Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

Views from Indonesia

Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing

Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

Dr. Abdul Muti

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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

About the Speaker

Dr. Abdul Muti is the Professor at the State Institute for Islamic
Studies (IAIN) Walisongo, Semarang, Indonesia. Besides his major
profession, Muti serves as Secretary of the Central (National) Board
of Muhammadiyah, a modern Islamic movement in Indonesia. Before
his current position, Muti was the President of the Central Board
Muhammadiyah Youth and Secretary of the Council of Primary and
secondary education of the Central Board Muhammadiyah. His recent
publications are Christian-Muhammadiyah: Convergences of Muslim
and Christian in Education, In-culture of Islam: Seeding Humanity,
Equality and Solidarity of Islam, Editor with Umar Hadi, Islam in
Indonesia: A to Z Basic References.

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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

Islamic

texts have undoubtedly encouraged the constant emergence of

intellectuals within Muslim community. The words read, ponder, reflect
and think (in their various forms) are among the most oft-repeated calls or
catchwords in the Quran. The words pen and book are also found
everywhere in the Quran. And, if an intellectual is someone who has to act,
this word is so plenty in the Quran. Moreover, the Quran, the narrated
traditions from the Prophet and the sayings of respectable Muslim scholars,
all have often emphasized the respectable position of those who develop their
intellectual capability, spend much time in their life to study and assume the
responsibility of keeping Muslim life inspired by knowledge.1
Throughout Muslim history, the role of intellectuals is undeniably important,
being responsible for the level of achievements the community can attain. It
can be said that at its zenith, Muslim civilization was a civilization of
intellectuals. It might also be argued that without the curious and openminded intellectuals, Muslim civilization is inconceivable. Of course, there
were some instances when intellectuals faced hard challenges from within the
umma, particularly from the rulers,2 but generally they have been supported
and at the same time influential.
However, today most of Muslim societies are in crisis politically,
economically and culturally. One of the striking features, as well as arguably
one of the main causes, of this crisis is the deficiency in Muslim science and
technology. The Muslim world has disengaged from science and the process of
creating new knowledge though they were world leaders in science and
technology a millennium ago. By any index (from publication of research in
established journals, expenditures on research and development, numbers of
research scientists, role played by science and technology in the national
economies, high technology exports, to the quality of higher education), the
Muslim world generates a small amount of scientific output.3 And, most of
this little output has been contributed by not more than seven to ten Muslim
majority countries (of about 50 Muslim majority countries).4 Furthermore, of
this low level of productivity, we would not be confident enough to talk about
the quality. On the other hand, Muslims are sometimes said to have a
mentality of buying science and technology, rather than producing it.
This is one important aspect of intellectual challenges facing contemporary
Muslim scholarship. On the broader level, Muslim thought being largely
marginalized in the modern world is a reality that we should acknowledge
especially if we agree that any reform need to start with recognition of the
world as it is. Most of discussions of Muslim thought seem to show it as
serving as a mere appendage of Western thought.
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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

As Muslims still lag behind in science and technology and struggle with
developing Muslim thought, it is important to discuss how contemporary
Muslim scholarship can give birth to a living, dynamic, thriving Muslim
civilization of the future. At least there are four important things we have to
consider for contemporary Muslim scholars to be able to empower Muslim
societies, flourish science and technology in Muslim countries, and reduce
their dependency on the current dominant civilization.
First of all, networking is a must. Todays world has been characterized with
interconnection and interdependence not only between peoples or
institutions but also between academic disciplines or sciences. Everything is
now seen to be connected to many things else and is dependent on
developments in other areas. Therefore, if we wants to succesfully introduce,
promote and develop sharia economics for instance, we have to engage not
only experts on Islamic jurisprudence and experts on conventional economics
but also those who will help us promote relevant and necessary legal, political,
social, educational and technological reforms.
Responding to contemporary intellectual challenges, we need therefore to
develop our networking among Muslim scholars and collaborate on a regular
basis in joint projects. In this regard, we also have to be always ready to
engage with, to inspire and be inspired by, scholars from other fields of study
or other socio-cultural backgrounds. Through this networking, we would be
able to break disciplinary boundaries, allow disciplines either secular or
religious to merge and cross-fertilize, and at the same time ensure that
Islamic world-view is more often brought into conversation in more diverse
forums.
Through networking, we can mutually inspire. It is not impossible for
specialists on Quranic studies, for instance, to inspire specialists on quantum
physics or microbiology, and vice versa just like experts on psychology and
experts on education can inspire each other. With the richness of Islamic
traditional academic disciplines, as well as the all-encompassing nature of
Islam, Muslims have a great potential to have their science and technology
advanced, unique and appropriate to their needs and circumstances.
It is important to note here that for Muslim networks to be effective, we have
to set aside our sectarian or ethnic or ideological divisions, and territorial or
geopolitical boundaries. We need to convince each of ourselves that we are
capable of taking much advantage from our perceived differences, making it a
strenght, rather than a source of conflict. Instead of focusing on what divides
us, we should focus on what unites us. Building upon common grounds is
much more fruitful than arguing for justifying our own position.
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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

Secondly, developing multiple approaches to solving problems is necessary. In

our world, diversity has been the essence of survival. In Ziauddin Sardars
word (1988), it is not the fittest who survive, but those who use plurality of
means. Therefore, monolithic approaches to reform would be insufficient
and lead to disappointment. When it comes to the development of sciences,
developing various approaches could mean that we need to take several paths
simultaneously; from Islamization (or dewesternization) of sciences,
integration of Islam(ic studies) and (general) sciences, scientification of
Islam(ic studies), dialogue between Islamic faith and modern science, to
Muslims (mere) acquisition of Western science.5 If Muslim scholars divert
their focus of concern away from debating which path is the best onto
maximizing their energy to benefit from all paths, we could potentially help
flourish science and technology in Muslim countries more rapidly.
Developing multiple approaches could also mean that we have to engage
people from diverse fields and backgrounds to address our common
challenges, including civil society activists, business people, journalists,
politicians, religious leaders and interfaith organizers. The diversity of actors
might contribute to the level of success we would able to achieve.
Thirdly, positive changes take time. For science or any civilizational project to
flourish in Muslim countries, long-term continuities are required. We have to
ensure that reforms are on their way, but we should never turn to taking
violent, radical measures to try to produce sudden, major changes. In
response to current intellectual challenges, Muslim scholars have to use what
Sardar once calls the methodology of the Prophet (of transformation): by
consistent and planned work, step by step, allowing time for adjusting to
change, taking stock of the changing situation, occasionally side-stepping for
strategic reasons, with unshaking will and determination. The nature of
Islamization over centuries in Indonesia (which is largely peaceful and relies
much upon education, rather than military or political measures), the
development of Indonesian Muslim organizations like the Muhammadiyah
(which is now one century-old) with its emphasis on education and social
activities (rather than political like some other Indonesian Muslim
organizations established in early 20th century), as well as the process of
Indonesian Reform starting in 1998 (which leads to peaceful, evolutionary
democratization), might be some of good examples of how gradual, peaceful
transformation yields many positive results in the long run despite some
obvious shortcomings which might not be able to achieve through
revolutionary actions (either taken by authoritarian regimes or by oppositions
or others).

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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

Last but not least, to respond to contemporary intellectual challenges, Muslim

community has to enable the (re)emergence of a great deal of responsible,
independent, devoted, creative intellectuals from within the community itself,
particularly among youth and women who have been increasingly capable of
being active, leading actors in society partly due to much better access to
training and education facilities.6 The Muslim world today is sometimes said to
be devoid of intellectuals (people who pose, define, analyze and solve
problems in society), partly because many of Muslim societies seem to be
anti-intellectual, dominated by blind imitation of the past or Western
civilization. Intellectuals are the group of people in a society who are able to
move away from the confines of specialism or professionalism to see
problems in their wider, holistic perspective. Producing intellectuals (organic
ones, rather than ecclesiastical) is surely a much heavier task than producing
mere print scholars, researchers, professionals and specialists. It should be
noted, however, that allowing the emergence of intellectuals is much more
difficult in countries severely suffered from brain-drain (migration of the
highly educated people to developed nations). To enable their emergence, at
least we have to alter brain drain affecting many Muslim countries to brain
circulation or brain gain particularly by improving education, economic
opportunities, good governance and living standards for scientists. If the flight
of human capital from Muslim countries continues to grow, the efforts to
increase the competitiveness of Muslim economies and sciences would always
be seriously hampered.

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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

Notes
1

For Quranic verses, see for instance Q 2: 269, 3: 7, 12: 111, 39: 9, 58: 11. Q 58: 11, one of popular
Quranic verses among Indonesian students, states that, Allah will raise those who have believed
among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. A narrated hadith says that a
knowledgeable person is far more valuable than a devout person. Another hadith says that those who
pursue a path in search of knowledge, God will surely make it easy for them to pursue the path to
heaven. An Islamic saying reportedly derived from al-Shafii states that anyone who wants the
world, he should be knowledgeable, and anyone who wants the hereafter, he should be
knowledgeable, and anyone who wants both, he should be knowledgeable. These are just few
instances among so many available in Islamic sources.

It is like the mistreatment facing such scholars as Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Taymiyah.

Some anecdotal reports suggest that predominantly Muslim countries combined, with more than 20
percent of the worlds total population, generate less than 5 percent of the worlds science. Some
even mentions less than 2 percent (below India and Spain). In terms of the number of
scientists/researchers, the 57 countries of the OIC have only 8.5 scientists, engineers, and technicians
per 1000 population, compared with a world average of 40.7 according to a 2007 report, and 649
researchers per million people, compared with a world average of 2,532 according to a 2010 report.
And in terms of expenditure, availabe data show that OIC member countries spending on research
and development activities is significantly lower than the world average and still far away from the
implied target of 1% of GDP by 2015 (according to Data Centre, UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Countries constantly listed among these seven or ten most scientifically productive Muslim countries
include: Turkey, Iran, Malaysia and Pakistan. Indonesia, Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria,
United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain and Nigeria are among countries often
alternately listed depending on the criteria employed.
5

Within Muhammadiyah, my organization which runs not less than 172 universities and colleges, a
choice to allow all or some of these alternatives developed in combination has been made by some
universities like UHAMKA University in Jakarta. Even though we still have to wait for the long-term
results, this choice can engage more scholars in pursuit of exploring and applying sciences suitable for
Indonesian Muslim needs.
6

It is important to consider that it has often been reported that the Arab Spring (just like Indonesian
Reform) owes very much to youth activism. It has also often been reported that the percentage of
women graduates in science and engineering out of the total science and engineering graduate
population, or that of women researchers out of the total researchers, in many of Muslim countries is
higher than that in some developed countries like Japan, Republic of Korea, and even United States
though in all OIC members combined, the figure is slightly lower than the world average (according to
UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

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Contemporary Intellectual Challenges Facing Muslim Ummah: Some Ways Out to Consider

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