Asad Zaman, profile picture
Uploaded byAsad Zaman
PPTX, PDF107 views

Decolonization of Education: Islamic Perspective - HBKU

The document discusses the decolonization of education from an Islamic perspective, highlighting the decline of Muslims and the misconceptions that arise from reliance on Western knowledge. It critiques the colonization of minds and proposes the Ghazali Project as a solution to revitalize Islamic education and thought. The talk emphasizes that the knowledge in the Quran remains relevant and powerful for addressing modern challenges, urging Muslims to reconnect with their intellectual heritage.

Downloaded 26 times
Decolonization of Education: An Islamic Perspective • Dr. Asad Zaman • Tuesday 29th Apr, 2024 • Hammad bin Khalifa University • Download these slides from: bit.ly/AZ2HBKU
Everyone Agrees that Muslims are in Decline Author Syed Abul-Hassan Ali Nadwi Arabic: “Maza khasiral alam bi inhitatil muslimeen” English: Islam and World: The Rise And Decline Of Muslims And Its Effect On Mankind Urdu: Insani Dunya par Musalmanon kay Urooj Aur Zawal ka Asar. Summary & Access to full-text PDFs: bit.ly/azrdm See also: Dr Israr Ahmed: Rise and Decline of the Muslim Ummah: bit.ly/IsrarRAD
Massive Disagreements on CAUSE of decline: • Western Analysts: We are the greatest civilization which ever existed on the planet. So, be like us, if you want to progress. • Western-influenced Muslims: Democracy, Secularism, Rule of Law, etc • We have fallen behind in knowledge: Science and Technology. The Final Message remains relevant for our guidance. • Renewal of Faith (Tableegh) • Eliminate Bid’at & Shirk (Salafi) • Recreate Khilafah (Political Islam) • Emphasize the Heart and Human Aspects (Service, Tasawwuf)
Tragedy: • We do not even know the central battleground. We are wasting our energies in fighting each other, and in fighting peripheral battles. • We do not have the weapons required to fight the central battle. • Meanwhile, the enemies have manufacture powerful weapons, which are currently in use against us, on an UNCONTESTED battleground • The Ghazali Project (for decolonization of education) provides an analysis, diagnosis, treatment, and plan of action. This is to be discussed in this talk.
Knowledge is at the heart of Islam Read, in the name of thy Lord who created … and gave to mankind knowledge which they did not have This knowledge launched a revolution in world history, catapulting ignorant and backward Bedouin in world leadership. Today, Muslims are again ignorant and backward. Does this knowledge have the same power today, to revolutionize our lives, and the world? TRAGEDY: Most Muslims DO NOT THINK SO! Today, Most Muslims are convinced that the path out of our current darkness requires guidance from the West!
Decolonization of Knowledge • COLONIZED MINDS: Today, we Muslims believe – and demonstrate with our actions – that guidance for solutions of our modern problems is only available from the West. The Quran no longer has the power to guide us. • SUCCESSFUL DECOLONIZATION OF MINDS => Understanding that the final message of God the mankind is complete and perfect, and far superior to any knowledge which can be produced by mankind. That it is just as revolutionary today as it was 14 centuries ago.
A Deep & Difficult Dilemma http://bit.ly/AZddd The Quran is Revolutionary Today • Why are Muslims unable to utilize this knowledge to launch a revolution? • Why can’t the Ulema design a path to uplift the Umma? • Why are multiple massive efforts launched on BASIS of study of Quran failing to produce significant effects? Western Knowledge is the only PATH! • The Power of Western knowledge is so obvious, that it seems IMPOSSIBLE to deny. • It shapes every moment of our modern lives. • HOW can it possibly be inferior to the knowledge of the Quran, which seems to provide no guidance for our modern lives?
Questions to be discussed/answered • What is a Colonized Mind? Education in Harmful Knowledge • What is Decolonized Mind? Able to see the NOOR of the Quran • Colonialism ended 70 years ago: Why are minds still colonized? • What is the process by which minds are colonized today? • How can we counteract this process? • Comprehensive SOLUTIONS: The Ghazali Project Sequence of 10 lectures on “How to Launch and Islamic Revival” http://bit.ly/azlir
Why the Quran appears irrelevant & obsolete Jahl-e-Murakkab:: Compound Ignorance • We think we HAVE this knowledge. • We have been UNABLE to use it to find solutions to modern problems. • THEREFORE, this knowledge does NOT have the power to solve modern problems. • INSTEAD, we must turn to Western corpus of knowledge to find solutions today.
Penetrating the Veil of Over-Confidence: Unjustified belief that we KNOW the message ْ‫ل‬ِ‫ل‬ ‫ى‬َ‫ب‬‫و‬ُ‫ط‬َ‫ف‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ب‬‫ي‬ ِ ‫َر‬‫غ‬ َ‫أ‬َ‫د‬َ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬َ‫ك‬ ُ‫د‬‫و‬ُ‫ع‬َ‫ي‬َ‫س‬ َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ب‬‫ي‬ ِ ‫َر‬‫غ‬ ُ‫م‬َ‫ال‬ْ‫س‬ِ‫اإل‬ َ‫أ‬َ‫د‬َ‫ب‬ ِِ‫ا‬َ‫ب‬ َ‫ر‬ُ‫ُغ‬ “Islam began as a something strange and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.” ِ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ع‬‫ا‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ذ‬ َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ْر‬‫ب‬ِ‫ش‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ْر‬‫ب‬ِ‫ش‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ك‬َ‫ل‬ْ‫ب‬َ‫ق‬ َ‫ان‬َ‫ك‬ ْ‫ن‬َ‫م‬ َ‫َن‬‫ن‬َ‫س‬ َّ‫ن‬ُ‫ع‬َ‫ب‬ْ‫ت‬َ‫ت‬َ‫ل‬ ْ‫ع‬ِ‫ب‬َ‫ت‬ ،ٍّ ََ َ‫ر‬َُُْ ‫وا‬ُ‫ل‬َََ‫د‬ ْ‫و‬َ‫ل‬ ‫ى‬َّ‫ت‬ََ ،ٍ‫ا‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ذ‬ ُ‫ه‬‫و‬ُ‫م‬ُ‫ت‬ ْ‫م‬ The Prophet‫ﷺ‬ said, "You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you inch by inch, so much so that even if they entered a hole of a lizard, you would follow them."
Indirect Approach to Revolutionary Knowledge contained in the Quran • Instead of searching through Quran, Hadeeth, and our Intellectual Tradition, look at History • How did this knowledge change the world? • The external effects of this knowledge:
Central Questions for Muslims Today What was revolutionary about the message of the Quran? What was the methodology used by early Muslims to launch a world revolution, UNIQUE in human history? The Quran is NOT a theoretical textbook: It teaches theory and practice together, about how to launch a world revolution
The First Wahy: Read, in the name of Thy Lord who created man … and gave him knowledge that he did not have Many arts – agriculture, languages, reading and writing, iron-works, etc. were revealed via Prophets to mankind. But the most important knowledge was revealed in the final revelation of God to mankind, complete and perfect for the guidance of mankind, for all times to come. BURNING QUESTION: What was this knowledge? Do we still have it?
Impact of Revelation on World History Launched a Civilization which enlightened the world for a thousand years. Roots of all Uloom of today go back to Islamic philosophy and science. This fact has been suppressed in Eurocentric Histories. However, distortion of history is of little importance. What is important is that this knowledge is STILL the most important. The Quran still contains complete and perfect guidance for us today.
Muslims look to West for Guidance! BUT, the Muslims are no longer looking to the Quran for guidance. WHY? Why have Muslims failed to look to the Quran for guidance? More importantly – those who HAVE looked, have failed to find answers in the Quran to our modern problems.
Impact of the Message on Word History
Hodgson: The Venture of Islam See: bit.ly/AZHodgson Muslims are assured in the Qur’ân, ‘You have become the best community ever raised up for mankind, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, and having faith in God’ (III, 110). Muslims succeeded in building a new form of society, which in time carried with it its own distinctive institutions, its art and literature, its science and scholarship, its political and social forms, as well as its cult and creed, all bearing an unmistakable Islamic impress. In the course of centuries, this new society spread over widely diverse climes, throughout most of the Old World. It came closer than any had ever come to uniting all mankind under its ideals.
Impact on Europe Reconquest of Al-Andalus gave European barbarians access to millions of books in Islamic Libraries. The Toledo Translation Project ended the dark ages of Europe. Flood of knowledge in conflict with Catholic teachings split Christianity into two factions. Violent Battles for Centuries between the two factions made population allergic to religion. The need for secular social science was firmly established. Politics and Economics were detached from Moral Philosophy.
The Enlightenment Project: Rebuild Entire Stock of Human Knowledge! Christianity had led us astray. We must firmly reject it as superstition and ignorance. Reject the ENTIRE stock of inherited knowledge. Rebuild Knowledge starting from ZERO, on grounds of reason and empirical evidence. Firmly reject the UNSEEN. ٍِّ ۡ‫َي‬‫ُغ‬ۡ‫ٱل‬ِ‫ب‬ َ‫ون‬ُ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬ ۡ ‫ؤ‬ُ‫ي‬ َ‫ِين‬‫ذ‬َّ‫ٱل‬ Firmly reject the HEART. ۡ‫ب‬َ ۡ ‫ٱۡل‬ َ‫و‬ َ‫ع‬ ۡ‫م‬َّ‫س‬‫ٱل‬ ُ‫م‬ُ‫ك‬َ‫ل‬ َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬َُ َ‫و‬ َََۚ‫د‬ِ‫د‬ِٔۡ‫ف‬َ ۡ ‫ٱۡل‬ َ‫و‬ َ‫ر‬ ‫ر‬َ‫َص‬ Descartes: I think, therefore I am.
Central Problem: Stock of Human Knowledge has been built on Enlightenment Epistemology The Ghazali Project; Rebuild the entire stock of human knowledge built over the past few centuries, on Islamic epistemological foundations. See: The Ghazalian Webinars: bit.ly/AZwebinars For a sequences of lectures by Recep Senturk on Decolonization of Social Sciences: From Uniplexity to Multiplexity, see: bit.ly/3v9FV32
Critical Lessons from this History • The Dark Ages of Europe ended when translations of knowledge gathered by Muslims reached Europe after reconquest of Spain • This knowledge was violently in conflict with Catholic teachings and split the Church. • The ESSENCE of the knowledge could NOT be absorbed by Europeans, and REMAINS a treasure beyond their reach!! • The Western copies we are currently mindlessly imitating are INFERIOR to the originals. To learn the original, we must reconnect with our intellectual tradition.
Fundamental Problem with Positivist Epistemology Sahih Bokhari: Dajjal is blind of left eye -- Abu-Jahl was known as Abul-Hakm because he was wise in worldly wisdom, but blind in affairs of the heart and soul. Enlightenment epistemology leads to deep insights into the external world. But, it blinds us to the internal nature of human beings. Why? Human experience is unique, not subject to scientific study. Society is collective activity of human beings. We cannot study society without understanding human beings.
Social Science = Study of Human Societies The myth of objectivity (science) – social science is the same for all societies. Correct View of Social Science: A Human Society is best studied via the study of the life-experiences of all members of the society. These life-experiences are UNIQUE, and therefore, not subject to scientific analysis. They can only be understood by empathy, by reading great works of fiction, to get insights into alien life-experiences. Positivism rules out life-experience as being outside domain of scientific knowledge
Western Failure to Understand Humans • Western epistemology reduces Humans to their minds – I think therefore I am. • The homo economicus is cold, calculating, callous, and cruel. • Psychologists have shown that actual human behavior is radically different from that of economic theory. See: bit.ly/WEAbvn • Islamic Psychologists have made great strides, rejecting Freudian theories, and building on Islamic intellectual heritage: Aql, Qalb, Nafs, and Ruh.
Multiple, Ongoing, Projects Recep Şentürk: Sequence of Lectures on Decolonization of Knowledge and on Ibn-e-Khaldun – Access from bit.ly/RSdss Uloom-ul-Umran: An Islamic Alternative to Western Social Science bit.ly/AZUUU (The Ghazali Project): How to Launch an Islamic Revival: https://portal.alnafi.com/courses/how-to-launch-an-islamic- revival A New Approach to Islamic Economics: bit.ly/IslamicEcon2023 Even Mathematics and Statistics must be rebuilt on new foundations!
Lord Macaulay: Purpose of Indian Education Creation of a Coconut Class: We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. Elite classes in Pakistan continue to respect, admire, and love the Colonizers, and have contempt and hatred for their own culture, heritage, and religion. This colonization of minds is produced by Western education.
How did colonization of minds succeed? Conquest IS BASED directly on colonization of minds. Colonization requires creation of a traitor class – Macaulays Children These people continue to rule, post independence. See: The Conquest of Knowledge: http://bit.ly/AZcok
Rebellion of 1857 and Consequences Critical Mistake: Deliberate abandonment of Western knowledge. Strong Parallels to the Mu’tazila and the Ilm ul Kalam See: The Modern Mu’tazila: bit.ly/AZtmm
The Mu’tazila and Ilm ul Kalam Shock and Awe of Greek Philosophy: Reason is primary and Revelation is secondary: We use reason to understand revelation. Is the Quran created? If so, then it will die, like all creations. Applying logic to the Quran – highly disliked by orthodoxy. If question was never raised by the early scholars, then we should not discuss it. Orthodox position was to avoid disputes with the Mu’tazala – it would lead to Kufr, and was forbidden even if done to support Islam. This was also the position taken by Ulema about Western knowledge following 1857. This withdrawal from the field has led to disaster.
Necessity of Ilmul Kalam after it became state religion • We are in same position today. • We need to enter into battle against Western philosophy. • The need for a new Ilmul Kalam We cannot afford to detach ourselves, and disengage with Western knowledge. We cannot call this knowledge the equivalent of carpentry, not relevant for religion. We must enter the battlefield, and defeat them on their own battleground, using their own tools, PLUS our intellectual heritage.
Western Education Colonizes Minds • It teaches us that the purpose of life is to make money. • Then, knowledge is useful if it allows us to make money. • Then, only knowledge created over the past few centuries is useful – because this knowledge allows us to get jobs within capitalist economies. • Obviously, Islamic teachings are not designed to teach us how to earn money.
How Can We Counter This Message? • We need to de-colonize the educational system. This is a difficult and challenging task. • We need to build an alternative to modern Western educational systems. These new models must create deep understanding of modern societies, and the history which led to the creation of the modern world. • We must replace Eurocentric history with an Islamic perspective. • We must rediscover Islamic Pedagogy, with its unique approach to education. See: bit.ly/4c13knZ
The first step is to discuss Purpose of Life Second step is to discuss USEFUL and USELESS Knowledge Useful is relevant to purpose First Step of the Ghazali Project is AL-Munqidh min al-dalalah Deliverance from Error: Rebuild Faith by understanding the nature of Knowledge as a Noor which is cast into our hearts. Purpose of Life: Learn Who You Are: bit.ly/Azwya Useful Versus Useless Knowledge: bit.ly/LKuauk
Squarely Confront the Challenge Facing Youth There is no God • World was created by chance • Man emerged via evolution • Our lives are meaningless. • Society is jungle of cut-throat competition. • Survival of the fittest is the ONLY moral principles. Lie, Cheat, Steal, everything is fine. God Exists • Universe was created for a purpose. • Man is the best of the creations • We have potential to rise above the angels. But also the potential to be worse than beasts. • Purpose is to achieve excellence, fulfill our potential.
How to Acquire Faith in God? • Logical arguments from Ilmul Kalam remain very powerful. • New Arguments are now available. Atheists have no satisfactory counters to these arguments. Unfortunately, we do not know the state of the art here. • Ontological, Cosmological, Teleological, Big Bang, Fine Tuning, Design • As Ghazali noted, intellectual arguments fail to reach the heart. The ultimate argument is the illumination of the heart by the Noor of Allah. There are a number of known pathways to this.
Second Step: Tahafat al Falasafa • The Puzzle of Western Social Science -- bit.ly/AZpss • Origins of Western Social Science – bit.ly/IR3owss A lot of other work which debunks the best that West has to offer is available • Ongoing efforts on Mathematics, Statistics, Islamic Psychology, and other area.
Third Step: Ihya Uloom ul Deen • Rebuilding the entire structure of human knowledge on Islamic epistemological foundations. • Rebuilding a University Education using these new approaches to knowledge • Rebuilding the Social Sciences on Islamic Foundations (Parts 1 and 2) bit.ly/AZrss1 and bit.ly/AZrss2 • Islamic Pedagogy: bit.ly/4c13knZ
The Root Cause of Muslim Decline Today? • Failure to TRUST in the completeness and perfection of the Final Message of God to Mankind. • The Challenge Facing Us: Rebuild the ENTIRE structure of human knowledge – Economics as a branch of Moral Philosophy • Religious Leaders, for the most past, adopted the strategy of the Ashab-e-Kahf. Those who did not, could not escape being dominated • This was a repeat of the mistake made in countering the Mu’tazila centuries ago. The cure lies in the Ghazali Project, same as before.
So, What is the Ghazali Project? • The Enlightenment Project sought to reject all inherited human knowledge, and rebuild the entire stock of knowledge starting from ZERO. • This project has lead to a few centuries of knowledge built on toxic foundations. This has been spread over the globe by Western education. • The Ghazali Project seeks to reject all of the knowledge created on foundations of the Enlightenment Project. Instead, we need to rebuild this knowledge – NOT from zero, but by building upon our heritage, the thousand year plus intellectual tradition of Islam. The Ghazali Webinars: bit.ly/AZwebinars
Reasons for Optimism and Hope The epistemology and ontology developed in the Enlightenment is absurdly fallacious, and easy to refute. Our intellectual heritage contains powerful tools against Enlightenment philosophies. Our failure comes from shock and awe of the West, not from the difficulty of the intellectual challenge. Iqbal: My eyes were not dazzled by the brilliance of Western knowledge, They were protected by the dust of Madina & Najaf May Allah T’aala give us the Taufeeq to rise to the challenge facing us.
Links to Relevant Materials Detailed writeup of this talk, with references: On IPS website: tinyurl.com/IPS2024Feb On my blog: tinyurl.com/Azdeco - both original Urdu ZOOM session, and re-recorded video in English are available from my blog post. These slides, on SlideShare: bit.ly/AZ2HBKU

More Related Content

PPTX
The Ghazali Project: Countering Enlightenment Epistemology
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Rebuilding the Social Sciences on Islamic Foundations
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
The Greatest Puzzle in Human History
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
The Road to Madina
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
What is Islamization of Knowledge
byKhalid Noor Mohammed
 
PPTX
An Islamic WorldView: Essential Component of an Islamic Education
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Creating Alternatives to Western Education
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Rebuilding Social Sciences on Islamic Foundations
byAsad Zaman
 
The Ghazali Project: Countering Enlightenment Epistemology
byAsad Zaman
 
Rebuilding the Social Sciences on Islamic Foundations
byAsad Zaman
 
The Greatest Puzzle in Human History
byAsad Zaman
 
The Road to Madina
byAsad Zaman
 
What is Islamization of Knowledge
byKhalid Noor Mohammed
 
An Islamic WorldView: Essential Component of an Islamic Education
byAsad Zaman
 
Creating Alternatives to Western Education
byAsad Zaman
 
Rebuilding Social Sciences on Islamic Foundations
byAsad Zaman
 

Similar to Decolonization of Education: Islamic Perspective - HBKU

PPTX
History: Mother of Social Sciences
byAsad Zaman
 
PPT
The Islamic Revolution
byIslamerica
 
PPS
Standard Bearers of Truth
byMuhammad Kurniawan
 
PPTX
Islamic System of Education
byGhulam Ghaus
 
PPTX
Complete and Perfect Guidance from God
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Western philosophy of science: Tragedy of Errors
byAsad Zaman
 
PDF
Islamization of Knowledge.pdf
bySouth Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil
 
PPTX
Resolving the Crisis in Islamic Economics
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Knowledge: Central to the Struggle for Islamic Revival
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Islamised Modernity in the west Power Point Slide
byNurjahanBegum24
 
PDF
Muslim Ummah in Facing the Challenges of Globalization (Presented in Tehran)
byMohd Abbas Abdul Razak
 
PPT
Istiqomah3[Slide Share]Amnded
byZhulkeflee Ismail
 
PPTX
Islamic Pluralism
byMirza Yawar Baig
 
PPTX
Teaching Third Generation Islamic Economics
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Concept of secularism
bySamir Fasih
 
PPTX
Rethinking Social Science Education
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Islamic Economics: Collective Action for Spiritual and Social Revival
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
The Illusion of Objective Knowledge
byAsad Zaman
 
PDF
islamicsystemofeducation-161020115127.pdf
byPiyushPati2
 
PPT
[Slideshare] fiqh-course-lesson#12-(feb-2013-batch)- islamic-scholarship-(15-...
byZhulkeflee Ismail
 
History: Mother of Social Sciences
byAsad Zaman
 
The Islamic Revolution
byIslamerica
 
Standard Bearers of Truth
byMuhammad Kurniawan
 
Islamic System of Education
byGhulam Ghaus
 
Complete and Perfect Guidance from God
byAsad Zaman
 
Western philosophy of science: Tragedy of Errors
byAsad Zaman
 
Islamization of Knowledge.pdf
bySouth Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Oluvil
 
Resolving the Crisis in Islamic Economics
byAsad Zaman
 
Knowledge: Central to the Struggle for Islamic Revival
byAsad Zaman
 
Islamised Modernity in the west Power Point Slide
byNurjahanBegum24
 
Muslim Ummah in Facing the Challenges of Globalization (Presented in Tehran)
byMohd Abbas Abdul Razak
 
Istiqomah3[Slide Share]Amnded
byZhulkeflee Ismail
 
Islamic Pluralism
byMirza Yawar Baig
 
Teaching Third Generation Islamic Economics
byAsad Zaman
 
Concept of secularism
bySamir Fasih
 
Rethinking Social Science Education
byAsad Zaman
 
Islamic Economics: Collective Action for Spiritual and Social Revival
byAsad Zaman
 
The Illusion of Objective Knowledge
byAsad Zaman
 
islamicsystemofeducation-161020115127.pdf
byPiyushPati2
 
[Slideshare] fiqh-course-lesson#12-(feb-2013-batch)- islamic-scholarship-(15-...
byZhulkeflee Ismail
 

More from Asad Zaman

PPTX
L4: Critical Lessons for the Way Forward
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Challenge & Opportunity for 3rd Gen Islamic Economists (7/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Our Modern Meaningless Lives: An Introduction
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Reclaiming the Future: The Revolutionary Vision of Third Generation Islamic E...
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Three Generations of Islamic Economics
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
The Path to Knowledge: What Education Forgot to Teach
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Islamic Principles for Local Empowerment and Environmental Stewardship
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Research Ethics & Integrity: An Islamic Perspective
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
First, Second, and Third Generation Islamic Economicss
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Reversing the Great Transformation
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Unlocking Prosperity: How Islamic Property Laws Can Transform Our World
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
The Battle for Monetary Justice: Islamic Finance in a Divided World
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Breaking Boundaries in Economics: Methodological Mistakes and Research Opport...
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
From Credit Creation to Community Power: An Islamic Perspective on Full Reser...
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Institutions of Islamic Societies: Role and Impact
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Building Agent-Based Models: A New Lens on Economic Reality
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Decolonization of Education: Islamic Perspective
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
The Revolutionary Islamic Alternative (5/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Two Puzzles About Islamic Economics (4/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
PPTX
Pragmatic Objections To Visionary Islamic Economics (6/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
L4: Critical Lessons for the Way Forward
byAsad Zaman
 
Challenge & Opportunity for 3rd Gen Islamic Economists (7/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
Our Modern Meaningless Lives: An Introduction
byAsad Zaman
 
Reclaiming the Future: The Revolutionary Vision of Third Generation Islamic E...
byAsad Zaman
 
Three Generations of Islamic Economics
byAsad Zaman
 
The Path to Knowledge: What Education Forgot to Teach
byAsad Zaman
 
Islamic Principles for Local Empowerment and Environmental Stewardship
byAsad Zaman
 
Research Ethics & Integrity: An Islamic Perspective
byAsad Zaman
 
First, Second, and Third Generation Islamic Economicss
byAsad Zaman
 
Reversing the Great Transformation
byAsad Zaman
 
Unlocking Prosperity: How Islamic Property Laws Can Transform Our World
byAsad Zaman
 
The Battle for Monetary Justice: Islamic Finance in a Divided World
byAsad Zaman
 
Breaking Boundaries in Economics: Methodological Mistakes and Research Opport...
byAsad Zaman
 
From Credit Creation to Community Power: An Islamic Perspective on Full Reser...
byAsad Zaman
 
Institutions of Islamic Societies: Role and Impact
byAsad Zaman
 
Building Agent-Based Models: A New Lens on Economic Reality
byAsad Zaman
 
Decolonization of Education: Islamic Perspective
byAsad Zaman
 
The Revolutionary Islamic Alternative (5/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
Two Puzzles About Islamic Economics (4/7)
byAsad Zaman
 
Pragmatic Objections To Visionary Islamic Economics (6/7)
byAsad Zaman
 

Recently uploaded

PDF
President John Dramani Mahama has declared three days of national mourning fo...
bynservice241
 
PDF
Plant Domestication | Evolution of Modern Agriculture
byKrashi Coaching
 
PPTX
Ethical principles in Indian tradition: Epics, Tripitakas, Jain Agamas and Dh...
byBanaras Hindu University
 
PPTX
Cartoon Revisions and Advertisement Grade 10
byBathabile Ngcobo
 
PPTX
ZULU METHODOLOGY 3B MICRO LESSON PRESENTATION.pptx
bySiphokazi Ncobela
 
PDF
Opthalmoscope ppt-pdf-notesdownload .pdf
byAnmol Singh
 
PDF
Pragya 6th Sense (P6S) – 4th Edition | Open General Flagship Quiz 2025
byPragya - UEM Kolkata Quiz Club
 
PDF
BÀI GIẢNG POWERPOINT CHÍNH KHÓA PHIÊN BẢN AI TIẾNG ANH 9 CẢ NĂM, BÁM SÁT SÁCH...
byNguyen Thanh Tu Collection
 
PPTX
Environmental Degradation and Pollution
bySheila Mae Ellima
 
PPTX
Admission Procedure.................pptx
byAneetaSharma15
 
PPTX
Klosek, Teremi, and Wolfson "AI Essentials: From Tools to Strategies: A 2025 ...
byNational Information Standards Organization (NISO)
 
PDF
Heat-Transfer-in-Nature.pdf/7th class new ncert/by k sandeep swamy/samyans ed...
bySandeep Swamy
 
PDF
SlideShare Presentation presentation about awareness
byrebomash573
 
PPTX
Bram Stoker's Dracula. Gothic novel characteristics
byRaquel FC
 
PDF
BED 105-B- Orientation - BEd. First Year - 2025
byMonika Tayade
 
PDF
CXC-AD Associate Degree Handbook (Revised)
byCaribbean Examinations Council
 
PDF
Unit 4 Clustering_K-means_K-medoid_KNN.pdf
byKanchanPatil34
 
PDF
Get to know your EEG and MEG data - artifacts, segmenting, preprocessing
byRobert Oostenveld
 
PPTX
Banking Company Accounts in Corporate Accounting .pptx
byDGayathiry
 
PDF
Data Restart 2025: Pavol Lukáč - AgentSpace: Dělá více, abyste vy mohli méně....
byTaste
 
President John Dramani Mahama has declared three days of national mourning fo...
bynservice241
 
Plant Domestication | Evolution of Modern Agriculture
byKrashi Coaching
 
Ethical principles in Indian tradition: Epics, Tripitakas, Jain Agamas and Dh...
byBanaras Hindu University
 
Cartoon Revisions and Advertisement Grade 10
byBathabile Ngcobo
 
ZULU METHODOLOGY 3B MICRO LESSON PRESENTATION.pptx
bySiphokazi Ncobela
 
Opthalmoscope ppt-pdf-notesdownload .pdf
byAnmol Singh
 
Pragya 6th Sense (P6S) – 4th Edition | Open General Flagship Quiz 2025
byPragya - UEM Kolkata Quiz Club
 
BÀI GIẢNG POWERPOINT CHÍNH KHÓA PHIÊN BẢN AI TIẾNG ANH 9 CẢ NĂM, BÁM SÁT SÁCH...
byNguyen Thanh Tu Collection
 
Environmental Degradation and Pollution
bySheila Mae Ellima
 
Admission Procedure.................pptx
byAneetaSharma15
 
Klosek, Teremi, and Wolfson "AI Essentials: From Tools to Strategies: A 2025 ...
byNational Information Standards Organization (NISO)
 
Heat-Transfer-in-Nature.pdf/7th class new ncert/by k sandeep swamy/samyans ed...
bySandeep Swamy
 
SlideShare Presentation presentation about awareness
byrebomash573
 
Bram Stoker's Dracula. Gothic novel characteristics
byRaquel FC
 
BED 105-B- Orientation - BEd. First Year - 2025
byMonika Tayade
 
CXC-AD Associate Degree Handbook (Revised)
byCaribbean Examinations Council
 
Unit 4 Clustering_K-means_K-medoid_KNN.pdf
byKanchanPatil34
 
Get to know your EEG and MEG data - artifacts, segmenting, preprocessing
byRobert Oostenveld
 
Banking Company Accounts in Corporate Accounting .pptx
byDGayathiry
 
Data Restart 2025: Pavol Lukáč - AgentSpace: Dělá více, abyste vy mohli méně....
byTaste
 

Decolonization of Education: Islamic Perspective - HBKU

  • 1.
    Decolonization of Education: AnIslamic Perspective • Dr. Asad Zaman • Tuesday 29th Apr, 2024 • Hammad bin Khalifa University • Download these slides from: bit.ly/AZ2HBKU
  • 2.
    Everyone Agrees that Muslimsare in Decline Author Syed Abul-Hassan Ali Nadwi Arabic: “Maza khasiral alam bi inhitatil muslimeen” English: Islam and World: The Rise And Decline Of Muslims And Its Effect On Mankind Urdu: Insani Dunya par Musalmanon kay Urooj Aur Zawal ka Asar. Summary & Access to full-text PDFs: bit.ly/azrdm See also: Dr Israr Ahmed: Rise and Decline of the Muslim Ummah: bit.ly/IsrarRAD
  • 3.
    Massive Disagreements on CAUSE ofdecline: • Western Analysts: We are the greatest civilization which ever existed on the planet. So, be like us, if you want to progress. • Western-influenced Muslims: Democracy, Secularism, Rule of Law, etc • We have fallen behind in knowledge: Science and Technology. The Final Message remains relevant for our guidance. • Renewal of Faith (Tableegh) • Eliminate Bid’at & Shirk (Salafi) • Recreate Khilafah (Political Islam) • Emphasize the Heart and Human Aspects (Service, Tasawwuf)
  • 4.
    Tragedy: • We donot even know the central battleground. We are wasting our energies in fighting each other, and in fighting peripheral battles. • We do not have the weapons required to fight the central battle. • Meanwhile, the enemies have manufacture powerful weapons, which are currently in use against us, on an UNCONTESTED battleground • The Ghazali Project (for decolonization of education) provides an analysis, diagnosis, treatment, and plan of action. This is to be discussed in this talk.
  • 5.
    Knowledge is atthe heart of Islam Read, in the name of thy Lord who created … and gave to mankind knowledge which they did not have This knowledge launched a revolution in world history, catapulting ignorant and backward Bedouin in world leadership. Today, Muslims are again ignorant and backward. Does this knowledge have the same power today, to revolutionize our lives, and the world? TRAGEDY: Most Muslims DO NOT THINK SO! Today, Most Muslims are convinced that the path out of our current darkness requires guidance from the West!
  • 6.
    Decolonization of Knowledge •COLONIZED MINDS: Today, we Muslims believe – and demonstrate with our actions – that guidance for solutions of our modern problems is only available from the West. The Quran no longer has the power to guide us. • SUCCESSFUL DECOLONIZATION OF MINDS => Understanding that the final message of God the mankind is complete and perfect, and far superior to any knowledge which can be produced by mankind. That it is just as revolutionary today as it was 14 centuries ago.
  • 7.
    A Deep &Difficult Dilemma http://bit.ly/AZddd The Quran is Revolutionary Today • Why are Muslims unable to utilize this knowledge to launch a revolution? • Why can’t the Ulema design a path to uplift the Umma? • Why are multiple massive efforts launched on BASIS of study of Quran failing to produce significant effects? Western Knowledge is the only PATH! • The Power of Western knowledge is so obvious, that it seems IMPOSSIBLE to deny. • It shapes every moment of our modern lives. • HOW can it possibly be inferior to the knowledge of the Quran, which seems to provide no guidance for our modern lives?
  • 8.
    Questions to bediscussed/answered • What is a Colonized Mind? Education in Harmful Knowledge • What is Decolonized Mind? Able to see the NOOR of the Quran • Colonialism ended 70 years ago: Why are minds still colonized? • What is the process by which minds are colonized today? • How can we counteract this process? • Comprehensive SOLUTIONS: The Ghazali Project Sequence of 10 lectures on “How to Launch and Islamic Revival” http://bit.ly/azlir
  • 9.
    Why the Quranappears irrelevant & obsolete Jahl-e-Murakkab:: Compound Ignorance • We think we HAVE this knowledge. • We have been UNABLE to use it to find solutions to modern problems. • THEREFORE, this knowledge does NOT have the power to solve modern problems. • INSTEAD, we must turn to Western corpus of knowledge to find solutions today.
  • 10.
    Penetrating the Veilof Over-Confidence: Unjustified belief that we KNOW the message ْ‫ل‬ِ‫ل‬ ‫ى‬َ‫ب‬‫و‬ُ‫ط‬َ‫ف‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ب‬‫ي‬ ِ ‫َر‬‫غ‬ َ‫أ‬َ‫د‬َ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬َ‫م‬َ‫ك‬ ُ‫د‬‫و‬ُ‫ع‬َ‫ي‬َ‫س‬ َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ب‬‫ي‬ ِ ‫َر‬‫غ‬ ُ‫م‬َ‫ال‬ْ‫س‬ِ‫اإل‬ َ‫أ‬َ‫د‬َ‫ب‬ ِِ‫ا‬َ‫ب‬ َ‫ر‬ُ‫ُغ‬ “Islam began as a something strange and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.” ِ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ع‬‫ا‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ذ‬ َ‫و‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ْر‬‫ب‬ِ‫ش‬ ‫ا‬ً‫ْر‬‫ب‬ِ‫ش‬ ْ‫م‬ُ‫ك‬َ‫ل‬ْ‫ب‬َ‫ق‬ َ‫ان‬َ‫ك‬ ْ‫ن‬َ‫م‬ َ‫َن‬‫ن‬َ‫س‬ َّ‫ن‬ُ‫ع‬َ‫ب‬ْ‫ت‬َ‫ت‬َ‫ل‬ ْ‫ع‬ِ‫ب‬َ‫ت‬ ،ٍّ ََ َ‫ر‬َُُْ ‫وا‬ُ‫ل‬َََ‫د‬ ْ‫و‬َ‫ل‬ ‫ى‬َّ‫ت‬ََ ،ٍ‫ا‬َ‫ر‬ِ‫ذ‬ ُ‫ه‬‫و‬ُ‫م‬ُ‫ت‬ ْ‫م‬ The Prophet‫ﷺ‬ said, "You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you inch by inch, so much so that even if they entered a hole of a lizard, you would follow them."
  • 11.
    Indirect Approach to RevolutionaryKnowledge contained in the Quran • Instead of searching through Quran, Hadeeth, and our Intellectual Tradition, look at History • How did this knowledge change the world? • The external effects of this knowledge:
  • 12.
    Central Questions for MuslimsToday What was revolutionary about the message of the Quran? What was the methodology used by early Muslims to launch a world revolution, UNIQUE in human history? The Quran is NOT a theoretical textbook: It teaches theory and practice together, about how to launch a world revolution
  • 13.
    The First Wahy: Read,in the name of Thy Lord who created man … and gave him knowledge that he did not have Many arts – agriculture, languages, reading and writing, iron-works, etc. were revealed via Prophets to mankind. But the most important knowledge was revealed in the final revelation of God to mankind, complete and perfect for the guidance of mankind, for all times to come. BURNING QUESTION: What was this knowledge? Do we still have it?
  • 14.
    Impact of Revelationon World History Launched a Civilization which enlightened the world for a thousand years. Roots of all Uloom of today go back to Islamic philosophy and science. This fact has been suppressed in Eurocentric Histories. However, distortion of history is of little importance. What is important is that this knowledge is STILL the most important. The Quran still contains complete and perfect guidance for us today.
  • 15.
    Muslims look toWest for Guidance! BUT, the Muslims are no longer looking to the Quran for guidance. WHY? Why have Muslims failed to look to the Quran for guidance? More importantly – those who HAVE looked, have failed to find answers in the Quran to our modern problems.
  • 16.
    Impact of the Messageon Word History
  • 17.
    Hodgson: The Ventureof Islam See: bit.ly/AZHodgson Muslims are assured in the Qur’ân, ‘You have become the best community ever raised up for mankind, enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong, and having faith in God’ (III, 110). Muslims succeeded in building a new form of society, which in time carried with it its own distinctive institutions, its art and literature, its science and scholarship, its political and social forms, as well as its cult and creed, all bearing an unmistakable Islamic impress. In the course of centuries, this new society spread over widely diverse climes, throughout most of the Old World. It came closer than any had ever come to uniting all mankind under its ideals.
  • 18.
    Impact on Europe Reconquestof Al-Andalus gave European barbarians access to millions of books in Islamic Libraries. The Toledo Translation Project ended the dark ages of Europe. Flood of knowledge in conflict with Catholic teachings split Christianity into two factions. Violent Battles for Centuries between the two factions made population allergic to religion. The need for secular social science was firmly established. Politics and Economics were detached from Moral Philosophy.
  • 19.
    The Enlightenment Project: RebuildEntire Stock of Human Knowledge! Christianity had led us astray. We must firmly reject it as superstition and ignorance. Reject the ENTIRE stock of inherited knowledge. Rebuild Knowledge starting from ZERO, on grounds of reason and empirical evidence. Firmly reject the UNSEEN. ٍِّ ۡ‫َي‬‫ُغ‬ۡ‫ٱل‬ِ‫ب‬ َ‫ون‬ُ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬ ۡ ‫ؤ‬ُ‫ي‬ َ‫ِين‬‫ذ‬َّ‫ٱل‬ Firmly reject the HEART. ۡ‫ب‬َ ۡ ‫ٱۡل‬ َ‫و‬ َ‫ع‬ ۡ‫م‬َّ‫س‬‫ٱل‬ ُ‫م‬ُ‫ك‬َ‫ل‬ َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬َُ َ‫و‬ َََۚ‫د‬ِ‫د‬ِٔۡ‫ف‬َ ۡ ‫ٱۡل‬ َ‫و‬ َ‫ر‬ ‫ر‬َ‫َص‬ Descartes: I think, therefore I am.
  • 20.
    Central Problem: Stockof Human Knowledge has been built on Enlightenment Epistemology The Ghazali Project; Rebuild the entire stock of human knowledge built over the past few centuries, on Islamic epistemological foundations. See: The Ghazalian Webinars: bit.ly/AZwebinars For a sequences of lectures by Recep Senturk on Decolonization of Social Sciences: From Uniplexity to Multiplexity, see: bit.ly/3v9FV32
  • 21.
    Critical Lessons fromthis History • The Dark Ages of Europe ended when translations of knowledge gathered by Muslims reached Europe after reconquest of Spain • This knowledge was violently in conflict with Catholic teachings and split the Church. • The ESSENCE of the knowledge could NOT be absorbed by Europeans, and REMAINS a treasure beyond their reach!! • The Western copies we are currently mindlessly imitating are INFERIOR to the originals. To learn the original, we must reconnect with our intellectual tradition.
  • 22.
    Fundamental Problem with PositivistEpistemology Sahih Bokhari: Dajjal is blind of left eye -- Abu-Jahl was known as Abul-Hakm because he was wise in worldly wisdom, but blind in affairs of the heart and soul. Enlightenment epistemology leads to deep insights into the external world. But, it blinds us to the internal nature of human beings. Why? Human experience is unique, not subject to scientific study. Society is collective activity of human beings. We cannot study society without understanding human beings.
  • 23.
    Social Science =Study of Human Societies The myth of objectivity (science) – social science is the same for all societies. Correct View of Social Science: A Human Society is best studied via the study of the life-experiences of all members of the society. These life-experiences are UNIQUE, and therefore, not subject to scientific analysis. They can only be understood by empathy, by reading great works of fiction, to get insights into alien life-experiences. Positivism rules out life-experience as being outside domain of scientific knowledge
  • 24.
    Western Failure toUnderstand Humans • Western epistemology reduces Humans to their minds – I think therefore I am. • The homo economicus is cold, calculating, callous, and cruel. • Psychologists have shown that actual human behavior is radically different from that of economic theory. See: bit.ly/WEAbvn • Islamic Psychologists have made great strides, rejecting Freudian theories, and building on Islamic intellectual heritage: Aql, Qalb, Nafs, and Ruh.
  • 25.
    Multiple, Ongoing, Projects Recep Şentürk:Sequence of Lectures on Decolonization of Knowledge and on Ibn-e-Khaldun – Access from bit.ly/RSdss Uloom-ul-Umran: An Islamic Alternative to Western Social Science bit.ly/AZUUU (The Ghazali Project): How to Launch an Islamic Revival: https://portal.alnafi.com/courses/how-to-launch-an-islamic- revival A New Approach to Islamic Economics: bit.ly/IslamicEcon2023 Even Mathematics and Statistics must be rebuilt on new foundations!
  • 26.
    Lord Macaulay: Purposeof Indian Education Creation of a Coconut Class: We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. Elite classes in Pakistan continue to respect, admire, and love the Colonizers, and have contempt and hatred for their own culture, heritage, and religion. This colonization of minds is produced by Western education.
  • 27.
    How did colonizationof minds succeed? Conquest IS BASED directly on colonization of minds. Colonization requires creation of a traitor class – Macaulays Children These people continue to rule, post independence. See: The Conquest of Knowledge: http://bit.ly/AZcok
  • 28.
    Rebellion of 1857and Consequences Critical Mistake: Deliberate abandonment of Western knowledge. Strong Parallels to the Mu’tazila and the Ilm ul Kalam See: The Modern Mu’tazila: bit.ly/AZtmm
  • 29.
    The Mu’tazila andIlm ul Kalam Shock and Awe of Greek Philosophy: Reason is primary and Revelation is secondary: We use reason to understand revelation. Is the Quran created? If so, then it will die, like all creations. Applying logic to the Quran – highly disliked by orthodoxy. If question was never raised by the early scholars, then we should not discuss it. Orthodox position was to avoid disputes with the Mu’tazala – it would lead to Kufr, and was forbidden even if done to support Islam. This was also the position taken by Ulema about Western knowledge following 1857. This withdrawal from the field has led to disaster.
  • 30.
    Necessity of IlmulKalam after it became state religion • We are in same position today. • We need to enter into battle against Western philosophy. • The need for a new Ilmul Kalam We cannot afford to detach ourselves, and disengage with Western knowledge. We cannot call this knowledge the equivalent of carpentry, not relevant for religion. We must enter the battlefield, and defeat them on their own battleground, using their own tools, PLUS our intellectual heritage.
  • 31.
    Western Education ColonizesMinds • It teaches us that the purpose of life is to make money. • Then, knowledge is useful if it allows us to make money. • Then, only knowledge created over the past few centuries is useful – because this knowledge allows us to get jobs within capitalist economies. • Obviously, Islamic teachings are not designed to teach us how to earn money.
  • 32.
    How Can WeCounter This Message? • We need to de-colonize the educational system. This is a difficult and challenging task. • We need to build an alternative to modern Western educational systems. These new models must create deep understanding of modern societies, and the history which led to the creation of the modern world. • We must replace Eurocentric history with an Islamic perspective. • We must rediscover Islamic Pedagogy, with its unique approach to education. See: bit.ly/4c13knZ
  • 33.
    The first stepis to discuss Purpose of Life Second step is to discuss USEFUL and USELESS Knowledge Useful is relevant to purpose First Step of the Ghazali Project is AL-Munqidh min al-dalalah Deliverance from Error: Rebuild Faith by understanding the nature of Knowledge as a Noor which is cast into our hearts. Purpose of Life: Learn Who You Are: bit.ly/Azwya Useful Versus Useless Knowledge: bit.ly/LKuauk
  • 34.
    Squarely Confront theChallenge Facing Youth There is no God • World was created by chance • Man emerged via evolution • Our lives are meaningless. • Society is jungle of cut-throat competition. • Survival of the fittest is the ONLY moral principles. Lie, Cheat, Steal, everything is fine. God Exists • Universe was created for a purpose. • Man is the best of the creations • We have potential to rise above the angels. But also the potential to be worse than beasts. • Purpose is to achieve excellence, fulfill our potential.
  • 35.
    How to AcquireFaith in God? • Logical arguments from Ilmul Kalam remain very powerful. • New Arguments are now available. Atheists have no satisfactory counters to these arguments. Unfortunately, we do not know the state of the art here. • Ontological, Cosmological, Teleological, Big Bang, Fine Tuning, Design • As Ghazali noted, intellectual arguments fail to reach the heart. The ultimate argument is the illumination of the heart by the Noor of Allah. There are a number of known pathways to this.
  • 36.
    Second Step: Tahafatal Falasafa • The Puzzle of Western Social Science -- bit.ly/AZpss • Origins of Western Social Science – bit.ly/IR3owss A lot of other work which debunks the best that West has to offer is available • Ongoing efforts on Mathematics, Statistics, Islamic Psychology, and other area.
  • 37.
    Third Step: IhyaUloom ul Deen • Rebuilding the entire structure of human knowledge on Islamic epistemological foundations. • Rebuilding a University Education using these new approaches to knowledge • Rebuilding the Social Sciences on Islamic Foundations (Parts 1 and 2) bit.ly/AZrss1 and bit.ly/AZrss2 • Islamic Pedagogy: bit.ly/4c13knZ
  • 38.
    The Root Causeof Muslim Decline Today? • Failure to TRUST in the completeness and perfection of the Final Message of God to Mankind. • The Challenge Facing Us: Rebuild the ENTIRE structure of human knowledge – Economics as a branch of Moral Philosophy • Religious Leaders, for the most past, adopted the strategy of the Ashab-e-Kahf. Those who did not, could not escape being dominated • This was a repeat of the mistake made in countering the Mu’tazila centuries ago. The cure lies in the Ghazali Project, same as before.
  • 39.
    So, What isthe Ghazali Project? • The Enlightenment Project sought to reject all inherited human knowledge, and rebuild the entire stock of knowledge starting from ZERO. • This project has lead to a few centuries of knowledge built on toxic foundations. This has been spread over the globe by Western education. • The Ghazali Project seeks to reject all of the knowledge created on foundations of the Enlightenment Project. Instead, we need to rebuild this knowledge – NOT from zero, but by building upon our heritage, the thousand year plus intellectual tradition of Islam. The Ghazali Webinars: bit.ly/AZwebinars
  • 40.
    Reasons for Optimismand Hope The epistemology and ontology developed in the Enlightenment is absurdly fallacious, and easy to refute. Our intellectual heritage contains powerful tools against Enlightenment philosophies. Our failure comes from shock and awe of the West, not from the difficulty of the intellectual challenge. Iqbal: My eyes were not dazzled by the brilliance of Western knowledge, They were protected by the dust of Madina & Najaf May Allah T’aala give us the Taufeeq to rise to the challenge facing us.
  • 41.
    Links to RelevantMaterials Detailed writeup of this talk, with references: On IPS website: tinyurl.com/IPS2024Feb On my blog: tinyurl.com/Azdeco - both original Urdu ZOOM session, and re-recorded video in English are available from my blog post. These slides, on SlideShare: bit.ly/AZ2HBKU