An Eclectic Approach to Islamization of Knowledge: Models and Perspectives

Islamization paradigm began in the late seventies and received a very strong impetus in both the Arab world and Muslim countries, as well as Muslim communities in the western world. Two seemingly divergent schools of thought emerged to provide the steering theoretical underpinnings for the Islamization of education project. However, a full application of Islamization theories as propounded by the two schools of thought has been difficult due to several emergent factors. The continued interest and participation of Muslim universities in the western global ranking of universities, continued increase in the number of Muslim countries that are participating in the non-Islamic based international assessment of students, non-existent of internationally recognized Islamic examination bodies as alternatives to the western bodies are all a telltale to the impossibility of full application of Islamization theories in the contemporary time. In its theoretical part, this paper suggests an eclectic approach to the Islamization of education, based on the Shari’ah principle of adopting lesser evil, and aims to create a synergy between multiple theories to form a single coherent and applicable system of education. The paper further suggests models for the application of such an eclectic approach to Islamization of education. In its empirical part, perspectives of stakeholders on the proposed models were explored to ascertain their best choice of model. The novelty of this paper lies in exposing practitioners to the possible models of Islamization of education amidst the limiting contemporary factors which may render the Islamization of education project as a mere caricature.