CHAPTER V : The International Institute of Islamic Thought’s Plan for the Development of University Curricula

The International Institute of Islamic Thought’s Plan for the Development of University Curricula -- 137

A Flexible Program -- 141

Educational Curricula and Programs -- 141

A Final Word -- 143

CHAPTER V

THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE

OF ISLAMIC THOUGHT’S PLAN FOR

THE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITY CURRICULA

THE IIIT has contributed to the reform of university curricula through a model being implemented at the International Islamic University, Malaysia (IIUM). This model consists of a double major – or, rather, a major specialization and a minor specialization in the faculties of Islamic revelation and the humanities respectively. One of a student’s two specializations will be in Islamic studies; then, if the student chooses to complete a secondary specialization, or minor, by extending his studies for an additional year (thirty or forty credit hours), he or she will receive two bachelor’s degrees, one in Islamic studies, and the other in an area of the humanities or social sciences.

This system, which has met with considerable success, is turning out graduates who are highly competent in their respective areas of specialization, who have a clear sense of their Muslim identity, and who exhibit considerable maturity – and an understanding and appreciation of the Islamic worldview and the Muslim community’s role in the progress of human civilization. As a means of further developing this model, a comprehensive reform plan has been drawn up for the university curriculum, and a selected group of university professors specializing in Islamic studies have been assigned the task of setting out the details of the plan and specifying its academic content.

The backbone of this plan is a general course of study in Islamic studies that consists of two parts. The first part (approximately thirty credit hours) provides the student with what a Muslim needs to know about his or her religion – that is, the doctrines, principles, values,

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concepts, aims, and rites that serve as the foundation for a fully rounded Islamic perspective and a principled, goal-oriented character. This part constitutes a required minor specialization for every student majoring in religious studies, social studies, or the humanities. As for the second part (also around thirty credit hours), its aim is to impart general knowledge of the history of the Muslim community, the life of the Prophet, the Islamic civilization, and the traditional religious (Islamic) sciences.

In addition to this general curriculum in Islamic studies, there are two other types of courses. The first of these are courses in social sciences and the humanities, and the second type consists of specialized courses in the religious sciences. The latter courses include Islamic law and jurisprudence, doctrine and philosophy (‘ilm usul al-din), the hadith sciences (‘ilm al-hadith), Qur’anic exegesis (‘ilm al-tafsir), the biography of the Prophet (‘ilm al-sirah), Arabic grammar (‘ilm al-nahw), and rhetoric (‘ilm al-balaghah).

Note should be made here of a syllabus that has been developed for a critical, analytical, conceptual study of contemporary Western materialist civilization and its underlying ways of thinking, as well as the various dimensions of its relationship to and influence upon the Muslim community. This course of study has been established as a partial specialization at IIUM under the title, ‘Occidental Studies,’ or, ‘Studies in Western Thought and Culture.’ The purpose of this course of study is to turn out experts in the understanding of Western culture who, as a result of such expertise, are able to relate effectively to the positive aspects of this culture without falling prey to its negative aspects. IIUM also provides courses that support the remaining specializations in this respect. We hope to see this partial specialization developed into a full major, which would meet a great need among professionals within the Muslim community.

In sum, each student’s degree program will consist of two specializations, the first part of which is the Islamic studies curriculum (the backbone). This first part is an inseparable component of every student’s study program regardless of what his or her other specialization or major happens to be (social sciences, humanities, legal studies, economics, or religious studies), and whether this other specialization is primary (his

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 or her ‘major’) or secondary (his or her ‘minor’). Hence, every student’s bachelor’s program will be one of the following:

30 hours of Islamic studies + 60 hours of major subjects + 30 hours of auxiliary coursework = a 120–130 hour degree program in one of the social sciences, humanities, or religious specializations.

60 hours of Islamic studies + 30 hours of minor subjects + 30 hours of auxiliary coursework = a 120 hour degree program in Islamic studies.

60 hours of Islamic studies + 30 hours of a specialization in education + 30 hours of auxiliary coursework = a 120–130 hour degree program in Islamic studies, which qualifies one to teach the fundamentals of Islam on the primary and secondary educational levels.

If a student completes a minor specialization in such a way that it becomes a major specialization, the graduate will, in effect, have two bachelor’s degrees: one of them in Islamic studies, and the other in his or her other area of specialization.

It should also be noted that there are approximately 30 hours of auxiliary coursework for one’s 60-hour major, which brings the total number of hours required for graduation with a bachelor’s degree in any specialization to 120–130 credit hours, while the hours required for a double major comes to 150–170 hours. The breakdown of credit hours is as follows:

60 hours (major specialization) + 30 hours (minor specializa-tion) + 30 hours (auxiliary coursework) = 120–130 hours (bachelor’s degree).

120 hours (bachelor’s degree) + 30 hours (minor specialization) + 30 hours (completion of a minor specialization such that it becomes a major specialization) = 150–180 hours (a double major, which is the equivalent of two bachelor’s degrees).

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It is important to note that the core content of many one-semester courses can be covered in two credit hours only rather than three, particularly in the second part of the Islamic studies curriculum.

The auxiliary coursework for specializations in religious studies must cover the broader social aspects of the subject matter being treated, thereby broadening students’ horizons and helping them to under-stand the psychological dimensions of whatever their specialization happens to be from a practical, realistic perspective. It is also important that the auxiliary coursework include three comprehensive introductions to three areas of psychosocial study. In addition, the courses entitled, ‘The Family and Parenthood’ and ‘Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving’ must be required of all students without exception. If possible, it would also be good for the course entitled, ‘The Rise and Fall of Civilizations’ to be a requirement for students specializing in religious studies, the social sciences, and the humanities, since Islam arose in a region that gave birth to a number of civilizations that prospered and declined in succession. Moreover, these civilizations have left their distinctive marks, both positive and negative, not only in this region, but on the cultural identities and characteristics of the peoples who belong to the Muslim community worldwide.

The details of these curricula were finalized during the 2008–2009 academic year, and it is hoped that they will be a source of benefit to other programs of higher education throughout the Islamic world. As for the question of how the scientific facts now available to humanity and the new potentials that now exist can be employed in the service of the Islamic worldview in the areas of the social sciences, the humanities, the physical sciences, and technological applications – its answer will be the fruit of the accumulated scientific research that has been done, and which continues to be done, in many of these fields. Thanks to the efforts of IIIT academic teams working to bring about the unification and Islamization of knowledge, such research has also begun to yield academic treatises on methodology.

As for the physical and technical sciences, it is preferable, given the extensive and demanding nature of their requirements, that they have a program that includes the major part of the first section of the Islamic studies curriculum together with an overview of the cultural

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dimensions and mission of the Muslim community. In addition, such a program should contain auxiliary coursework on the philosophy of Islam as it pertains to these sciences and the aims that guide their use in real-life, practical situations, particularly those aspects that pertain to each student’s specific specialization or major. Then, if there are students who wish to know more about Islam as both a religion and a civilization, they are free to seek out more information on these topics. It is for this reason that IIUM offers diplomas, master’s degrees, and doctorates in Islamic studies to any graduate of any academic specialization once he or she has completed the requirements for his or her initial specialization. In addition, a student specializing in the physical sciences may take Islamic studies as a second specialization if he or she so chooses.

A Flexible Program

Lastly, it should be noted that this plan is highly flexible, and can there-fore be adapted to a variety of university plans and to the requirements of different specializations. Since sixty hours are the minimum requirement for any major specialization, this leaves thirty to forty hours for auxiliary coursework. Up to twenty hours of auxiliary coursework can be added to any major specialization, thus bringing the number of hours up to eighty, which is the maximum allowed for any specialization, while the remaining ten to twenty hours are reserved for other university requirements and auxiliary coursework. In this manner, then, students are prepared for post-university life by being given an integrated, well-rounded education encompassing at once the academic, the emotional, the spiritual, and the cultural. As a consequence, they are better equipped to fulfill the constructive, reformist mission of Islam.

The task before us, then, is clear and simple, and if the intention to renew and reform ourselves is sincere, our hopes are bound to be fulfilled, God willing.

Educational Curricula and Programs

I have discussed in considerable detail the subject of education in my

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work entitled, ‘Azmat al-Idarah wa al-Wijdan al-Muslim,’ where I seek to make clear that the human being’s inward makeup is determined not only by reason and knowledge, but equally importantly, by upbringing and spiritual-emotional factors. I also stress the fact that a child’s upbringing is, first and foremost, the responsibility of the family. Consequently, I have a longstanding interest in writings addressed to parents, and this has become one area of interest for the IIIT. Nevertheless, schools and the universities have a vital educational role to play, not only by conveying knowledge, but in addition, by instilling discipline in students’ performance, behavior, and relations with others based on an objective, practical perspective of themselves and the world around them.

It is with this responsibility in mind that the IIUM’s curriculum includes a course on the family and childrearing, as well as one on creative thinking and problem-solving, the purpose of which is to prepare students for the challenges of the future – and particularly, their role as parents. It is hoped that through the education young people receive at IIUM, they will see the importance of raising their children in an egalitarian atmosphere that promotes courage, inward integrity, critical thinking, initiative, and creativity. In this way, such young people may help to counter the authoritarian approach to child-rearing that is far too prevalent in the Muslim community today, and which generates a ‘slave mentality’ and the tendency to obey others out of fear and blind subservience rather than genuine respect and conviction.

For this same reason, the study plan developed at the IIUM aims to promote a culture of debate and discussion throughout the entire student body. The goal of this policy is to train students in their capacity as future citizens, thinkers, and leaders in the ability to understand and appreciate others’ points of view, mentalities, motives, and aims. And in fact, the IIUM has succeeded in promoting flexibility, good communication skills, tolerance, and humility – qualities which leave no room for one-sided thinking and viewpoints or the bigoted, closed-minded attitudes that provide fertile ground for the growth of totalitarianism, cruelty, and corruption. IIUM’s graduates have thus acquired invaluable social and leadership skills, which are evident in

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their performance and in their way of relating to others, while IIUM debate teams have achieved outstanding success on both the local and international levels.

In sum, effective, successful education is not merely a process of spoon feeding or memorization, but is rather first and foremost a process of developing abilities and skills while creating a social and academic atmosphere that exposes students to a variety of academic and practical experiences and skills. It is this same type of atmosphere that the IIIT strives to produce in the area of Islamic thought and university education through its various academic and educational publications. To this end, the IIIT presents practical models that can enable educational institutions to achieve better performance and thereby play an effective role in improving the conditions of the Muslim community.

A Final Word

In conclusion, I would like to draw the attention of university professors, thinkers, writers, and researchers to the fact that many of their writings contain terms and treat concepts of relevance to issues of vital importance to the Muslim community. However, until such concepts and terms are translated into concrete action plans, programs, systems, and mechanisms that challenge, reform, and refine the Muslim com-munity’s way of life, they will remain nothing but literary flourishes that have no effect in the real world in which we live.

It is to be hoped that the efforts of Muslim thinkers, reformers, academicians, and other concerned specialists will be coordinated in such a way that they give the Muslim community both a clear vision and a guide to action so that it can correct its way of thinking, revitalize its institutions, make good use of its potentials, and give free rein to its creative energies. Otherwise, the Muslim community will remain in the grip of mental indolence, subordination, and dependency.

I have attempted in the foregoing to apply basic Islamic values and concepts to actual situations faced by the Muslim community and to provide both conceptual and practical alternatives to current practices and ways of thinking. In so doing – in the service of the Islamic vision for human civilization and the planet – I have sought to provide models

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that can be expanded upon and adapted as needed by both thinkers and practitioners, each of them according to his or her field of specialization. “And in the morning,¹ the people will rejoice that they broke camp before the break of dawn.”

In God do we seek assistance, and on Him do we rely.

He is the Best of all protectors, and the Best of all helpers.

Praise be to God, the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds.

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