The Islamization Of Methodology Of Behavioral Sciences

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-238
Author(s):  
Taha Jabir Al-'Alwani

All praise and thanksgiving are for Allah (SWT) Lord of the universe,and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets (es), his kinand all his companions, and upon all who follow him and are guided by hisMessage, until the Day of Judgment.Brothers and sisters: it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all inthe name of the International Institute of Islamic Thought at the beginningof this conference, the fourth in its series of international conferences. Weare happy and appreciate that this conference is being hosted by the Sudan,and is being held in cooperation with the University of Khartoum, to discussa matter of great importance to this Ummah: The Reform of the Methodologyof Islamic Thought, and Ways of Islamizing the Behavioml Sciences. Undoubtedly,these sciences form the general basis for the social sciences andhumanities.This is indeed the first time that the Institute has held one of its internationalconferences in an Arab country, under the auspices of a Muslim Arabpresident from an historical family whose deep concern for attempting to effectreform in this Ummah is well-known. For the benefit of the good peopleof this country, and for the audience here, we should briefly but accurately outlinethe aims and objectives of this Institute, its achievements so far, and itsmost important plans and projects, so that individuals are able to determinethe part each can play as well as the extent of their possible participation inand contribution to this good work.Many years ago, and after numerous conkrences and exhaustive studiesand consultations on the present situation of our Ummah, in addition to extensiveanalysis of our past as well as our futm aspirations, an idea crystallizedin the minds of a group of young committed Muslims. They were convincedthat the crisis of this Ummah in both essence and reality is an intellectual ...

1987 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-154
Author(s):  
Sayyid M. Syeed

The Fourth International Conference on Islamization of Knowledge,sponsored by the International Institute of Islamic Thought, was held in collaborationwith the University of Khartoum January 15-20, 1987. The themeof the conference was “Methodology of Research, Behavioral Sciences andEducation.” The call for papers was published in the American Jouml ofIslamic Social Sciences in July, 1984 and the invitations were circulated widelyamong Muslim scholars. It was in response to these calls that abstracts werereceived and finally selected on the basis of their relevance and quality.The conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of the Sudan, Mr.al Sayyid al Sadiq al Mahdi. Thirty-seven research papers were presented byforeign, as well as local Sudanese scholars. The subjects includedmethodology, epistomology , education, psychology, sociology, and anthropology.The conference proved to be an historic event, especially in termsof the participation of large numbers of local scholars, teachers, students andother interested Muslims.Each presentation was followed by lively discussions and critiques. Theextraordinary interest shown by the Sudanese Muslims regarding the issues ofthe Islamization of Knowledge, was evidence of this nation’s commitment tothe process of Islamization. The director of the Friendship Hall announced atthe final session that the conference had attracted the largest crowd ever at theauditorium. In addition, the lobbies, the offices and the grounds around theauditorium were all crowded and the loud speakers had to be openedeverywhere.The following are the titles of some of the research papers presented:1. The Problems of Methodology in Islamic Thought ‘Abdul Hamid ’AbuSulayman2. Reason and Its Role in the Islamic Methodology Taha Jabir Al-‘Alwani3. Methodology of the Classification of Sciences in the Islamic Thought‘Abdul Majid Al Najjar ...


1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. v-vii
Author(s):  
Sayyid Muhammad Syeed

The first decade of the 15th century Hijrah is over. It saw the establishmentof the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT) and was markedby the development of cooperation and collaboration between various Islamicorganizations and institutions around the world. The results have been mostencouraging. This collaboration has contributed toward the initiation of anera of discussions and debates on the Islamization of knowledge and thedevelopment of a methodology for the reconstruction of Islamic thought.Among the consequences has been the unfolding of various intellectual forums.One such intellectual forum for the last five years has been the AmericanJournal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) published jointly by the IIIT andthe Association for Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS). We are greatly encouragedby its steadily increasing circulation and by the enhanced participationof social scientists as well as lay scholars.'AbdulHamid AbuSulayman, now Rector of the International IslamicUniversity (IIU). Malaysia, continues to send us his inspiring selection andcommentary of Qur'anic verses as the "Guiding Light:'In this issue, for the first time, we are induding a paper by Taha Jabiral 'Alwani, the President of the IDT and author of several scholarly titlesin Arabic. This paper is the English rendering of his lecture delivered inRabat, Morocco at a conference held under the aegis of the Islamic Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). He sketches a briefargument for establishing an Islamic alternative in thought and knowledge,not only for the benefit of Muslims, but for the common good of humanity.Another first is the paper by Eric Winkel, a multi-lingual political scientistof the faculty of IIU Malaysia, who provjdes us with an analysis of Habermasand Foucault. This paper entitled "Remembering Islam . . . " bringsthese postwar leaders of the Frankfurt school of anarchist and radical critiqueinto the discussion of the Islamic paradigm. Winkel explains thecharacterization of Habermas and Foucault of existing epistemologies as "pernicious,pervasive and truth distorting," and shows how their own vision ofthe possible future world is extremely restricted and inadequate. He suggeststhat we remember that Islam, as the divine guidance of Allah, provides thebasis for a truly emancipatory meta critique.Moving from philosophical issues to the more concrete, Ausaf Ali's paperon " . . . Islamization of Social and Behavioral Sciences" argues for a moral ...


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Mohamed Amine Brahimi ◽  
Houssem Ben Lazreg

The advent of the 1990s marked, among other things, the restructuring of the Muslim world in its relation to Islam. This new context has proved to be extremely favorable to the emergence of scholars who define themselves as reformists or modernists. They have dedicated themselves to reform in Islam based on the values of peace, human rights, and secular governance. One can find an example of this approach in the works of renowned intellectuals such as Farid Esack, Mohamed Talbi, or Mohamed Arkoun, to name a few. However, the question of Islamic reform has been debated during the 19th and 20th centuries. This article aims to comprehend the historical evolution of contemporary reformist thinkers in the scientific field. The literature surrounding these intellectuals is based primarily on content analysis. These approaches share a type of reading that focuses on the interaction and codetermination of religious interpretations rather than on the relationships and social dynamics that constitute them. Despite these contributions, it seems vital to question this contemporary thinking differently: what influence does the context of post-Islamism have on the emergence of this intellectual trend? What connections does it have with the social sciences and humanities? How did it evolve historically? In this context, the researchers will analyze co-citations in representative samples to illustrate the theoretical framework in which these intellectuals are located, and its evolution. Using selected cases, this process will help us to both underline the empowerment of contemporary Islamic thought and the formation of a real corpus of works seeking to reform Islam.


2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (01) ◽  
pp. 204-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Sydnor ◽  
Nicole Pankiewicz

ABSTRACT This article describes the creation and implementation of a new online assessment program (“PACKS”) for the department of politics at the University of Virginia. It discusses the benefits of online assessments, including the ease of administration, minimal faculty involvement, ability to link assessment data to existing student data (e.g., GPA and courses completed), and ability to track student progress over time. The assessment can be easily adapted for use by other departments in the social sciences and by other colleges and universities. The authors discuss the drawbacks to this type of assessment, including the challenge of obtaining the highest number of respondents. They recommend using a strong incentive to ensure full participation, such as an advising hold that prevents students from registering until they complete the assessment. The authors contend that implementing survey-based assessment tools is an ideal way for departments to meet their accrediting institutions’ assessment requirements.


Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad

The field of theology and development is a relatively new sub-discipline within theological studies in Africa. The first formal post-graduate programme was introduced at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa during the mid-1990s. In the early years it was known as the Leadership and Development programme and since 2000, as the Theology and Development programme. Over the past twenty years, this programme has graduated over 160 BTh Honours, 100 MTh, and 15 PhD students. This article outlines the history of the programme, addresses its ideological orientation, its pedagogical commitments and preferences in curriculum design. It further argues that theological reflection on “development” must seek to understand the prophetic role of the church in responding to the complexities of the social issues facing the African continent.  Key to this discussion is the contested nature of “development” and the need for theological perspectives to engage this contestation through a social analysis of the global structures of injustice. This requires an engagement with the social sciences. It is this engagement of the social sciences with theological reflection, the essay argues, that has enabled the students who have graduated from the Theology and Development Programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to assist the church and faith-based organisations to become effective agents of social transformation.


Author(s):  
Phil Mullins

This essay examines the thirty-year personal and intellectual friendship of Edward Shils and Michael Polanyi. Shils identifies Polanyi as one of his three important mentors; he is aware of and often involved in many Polanyi projects after the mid-forties and absorbs elements of Polanyi’s developing post-critical philosophical perspective. Shils helped Polanyi better understand the social sciences and he was a trusted friend whose scholarly writing apparently inspired Polanyi; Shils was also a capable younger figure on whom Polanyi often relied to organize endeavours such as Polanyi’s long term affiliation with the University of Chicago.


2021 ◽  
pp. 200-243
Author(s):  
Larry Abbott Golemon

The sixth chapter analyzes theological schools that realigned themselves with the modern research university. Several narratives are explored: the struggle between Thomas Jefferson’s University of Virginia and seminary founders like John Holt Rice; the influence of the German university through immigrants like Phillip Schaff and theologians who studied abroad; the pragmatic adaptation of the German encyclopedia for organizing theological studies; the impact of the American university’s pragmatism, social sciences, and social reform on seminaries; and the influence of progressive education and the religious education movement on theological schools. University Divinity schools led this movement, especially the University of Chicago built by William Rainey Harper, but a number of independent schools, like Union Theological Seminary in New York, sought such realignment as “theological universities.” This realignment of theological schools had significant benefits, as it increased elective studies, developed specialized fields of ministry, and brought the social sciences to theological education. However, the realignment had unforeseen problems as it widened the gap between academics and those of professional practice; distanced faculty from interdisciplinary work and church leadership; replaced the Bible as a unifying discipline with “the scientific method”; and replaced the integrative role of oral pedagogies with scholarly lectures and the research seminar.


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