Part 1 of 2: In pursuit of ‘Islamisation of knowledge’

RECEP Tayyip Erdogan, recently elected to his third term as Turkey president, was once asked why he did not add “Islamic” to the name of his Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) in view of its religious roots and aspirations. “Ak” means clean, white, or unblemished in Turkish. He replied that he omitted it so the failures of his party would not be viewed as that of Islam. Malay leaders, politicians and intellectuals would do well to ponder Erdogan’s wisdom.

In Malaysia today, the glaring failures of the unabashedly Islamist party in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu are now seen, more so by non-Malays, as the failures of Islam. Instead it should be of corrupt incompetent Malay leaders and politicians riding the Islamic camel. The menteri besar of Kedah is claiming Penang so he could levy RM150 million assessment annually. More productive if he were to learn how the island became developed and prosperous. The incompetence of Kelantan’s Islamist government is the “kopi susu” flowing out of the taps there. Meanwhile, Terengganu’s menteri besar saw no problem in selling state land to an entity led by his wife at a fraction of its market price. Elsewhere that is corruption, and the pair would have been jailed. However as per PAS Islam, the couple’s bonanza is “berkat” (blessing) and “rezeki” (bounty) from Allah. Such perversion of our great faith!

Malay intellectuals, too, are not spared this obsession with religion, reflected in their puerile pursuit of the “Islamisation of knowledge” (IOK). Belatedly recognising the futility of their efforts, they have now relabelled that as the “integration of knowledge”. Same initials, same fraudulent content.

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas was instrumental for promulgation of IOK with the publication of his 1982 book “Islam and Secularism”. He challenged the insights from the assumption of the universality of modern social sciences. Later, the University of British Columbia’s Joe Henrich, too, characterised much of social science findings as WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic), based on the skewed samples studied. IOK notwithstanding, it is difficult to accept that there are forms of uniquely “Islamic” chemistry or quantum physics. There are consequences to this IOK, as with making Malays averse to science as reflected in the declining numbers pursuing the subject.

Naquib’s IOK occurred at about the same time as Edward Said’s critique of Western scholarship on the colonised world. While Said’s “Orientalism” furthered our understanding of the West’s reading of “others”, Naquib’s “Islam and Secularism” led to the intellectual parochialism of Muslim social scientists.

The irony is that both Naquib and Said are products of the very Western institutions they had criticised – the former Sandhurst, McGill, and London University; the latter, Princeton and Harvard. I cannot imagine Egypt’s Al-Azhar University producing such daring innovative thinkers.

It would be more fruitful for Muslim intellectuals to emulate their ancient luminaires. Al-Kindi, Ibn Rushds and al-Farabi did not bother to “Islamise” Greek philosophy. They studied and absorbed it, later making their own seminal contributions that led to, among others, the “golden age of Islam”. They were not perturbed learning from the atheistic and polytheistic Greeks. Knowledge is knowledge, it ultimately emanates and is a blessing from Allah. That He chose to dispense the wisdom on the concept of zero to a Hindu is not for us to question but to learn and benefit.

China is poised to be the world’s largest economy and strongest power, achieved within a generation or two. An unparalleled achievement! Deng Xiaoping and his fellow leaders enthusiastically absorbed Western capitalism and knowledge, like the ancient Muslims, and Greek philosophy. The Chinese did not bother with “Sinofication” of Western knowledge. Now that they are successful and powerful, they can assert with great confidence that Western norms and values are not universal. Many are listening, and agreeing – the power of success!

Dispense with IOK (or now, integration of knowledge) and the associated futile obsession with the minutiae of halal, haram, or maqasid shariah. Emulate the Turkish “ak”. Bring justice and development to the Muslim community. Indulge in corruption and it would be haram, per Muslim as well as non-Muslim holy books. – June 21, 2023.

Part 2: Folly of Islamic economics and finance

* M. Bakri Musa reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.