Editorial

Abstract

With the publication of this issue (Vol. 14, no. 4), AJISS becomes fourteen years old. Though many years have passed, we still look forward with much optimism and determination to realizing the Journal’s original goals as stated in its first issue: “to serve as an effective bridge of intellectual communication between various Muslim intellectuals in the country (USA) and beyond,. . . to serve as a medium of communication between Muslims in the United States and their fellow countrymen of diverse faiths, . . . [and to] facilitate the ongoing dialogue and cooperation between “old world” Muslims and their brethren living in the West.” However, with the passage of time these goals have become focused into one principle: to provide a comprehensive Islamic vision that relates Islamic principles to issues of contemporary thought and social realities. To achieve this through a genuine process of ijtihad, Muslim scholars, academicians, and professionals are required to excel in their own fields of specialization, to have a thorough understanding of Islamic sources, and to have a sound knowledge and acquaintance of the changing social realities and circumstances. The field of education, to which this issue of AJISS is dedicated, offers us a compelling challenge to our professed goals. From the beginning, we realized its importance. In the second issue of AJISS, it was pointed out that “close examination of both current and past trends in American Muslim communities show the disruptive impact of public schooling on Islamic culture. Research designed to initiate an educational alternative for Muslim communities is vital and long overdue.” What is clear now is that various alternatives should be developed at the same time. During the last fifteen years tens of full-time Islamic schools have been established in the USA and Europe. Hundreds of evening and weekend schools have also been established. Alternative curricula and textbooks are needed. This is not to neglect the public school system where the majority of Muslim children will continue to have their education and where stereotyped and false images of Islam and Muslims in various textbooks and library collections continue to bombard the minds of students, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Efforts to approach local school authorities, teachers, and textbook publishers to ...