ONE-DAY SEMINAR ON ISLAMIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE

Abstract

IIIT (International Institute of Islamic Thought) in Nigeria, in conjunction with the Muslim Forum of Bayero University, Kano, jointly organized and conducted a one-day seminar on the Islamization of knowledge. The seminar took place on 5 Rabi' al-Awwal, 1417 (20 July 1996). It was one of a series of programs designed for faculty outreach. Therefore, academic staff in the various faculties of the university were invited and constituted the primary audience. The primary aim of the seminar was to educate and mobilize Muslim academicians in the university toward the Islamization of Knowledge program. It has been observed that, although a number of departments in the university offer Islamically oriented courses and several papers had been presented in some departmental and even some international seminars, many academic staff still do not have a proper understanding of the idea behind the Islamization of knowledge. For this reason, all the papers presented focused on the concept of Islamization of knowledge itself. Of the papers presented, two are included here. The first paper was the keynote address delivered by Dr. Bashir Shehu Galadanci, the coordinator of IIIT in Nigeria. Dr. Galadanci gave a precise and concise summary of the journey thus far and the issues involved in the Islamization of Knowledge program. First and foremost, he gave a brief analysis of the theoretical and conceptual framework upon which the idea of the program was built. He further analyzed the divergent views and the controversies involved in the program. He then gave a concise historical review of its undertaking, the efforts and achievements so far made on the program, and some of the problems usually encountered both locally in Nigeria and internationally ...