Fazlur Rahman, islamic philosophy of education and the islamisation of knowledge
pp. 361-371
in: Paul Smeyers (ed), International handbook of philosophy of education, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
Scholars of Islamic Philosophy of Education widely consider Fazlur Rahman (1919–1988) as one of the most distinguished Muslim philosophers of the twentieth century. His most well-known works include Avicenna's Psychology (1949), Prophecy in Islam: Philosophy and Orthodoxy (1979a), Islamic Methodology in History (1965), Major Themes of the Qur'an (1980), and Islam and Modernity (1982) – which offer significant insights into his theories on education. Fazlur Rahman is probably best known for his thesis on an Islamisation of knowledge, which has provided a significant contribution to his understanding of an Islamic philosophy of education. Proponents of an Islamisation of knowledge consider it as a counter response to what is perceived as the influence of western secularism. In this respect, and from Rahman's perspective, an Islamisation of knowledge is key to reform in Islamic education, and hence, to the Muslim community. This chapter, therefore, commences with an overview of Rahman's thesis on Islamic philosophy of education, by paying particular attention to his contention for an Islamisation of knowledge. This is followed by a critique of Rahman's Islamisation approach and concludes with a consideration of the implications for contemporary debates in philosophy of education.
