ABSTRACT
This introduction sets the stage for the book, presenting the major research questions, the fieldwork and the context. It starts from the belief that religion cannot be isolated to just fiqh, that fiqh necessitates an ethical understanding, and that applying fiqh to reality requires scientific tools that were developed and still lie in the space of the human sciences in general and the social sciences in particular. One of the most important tasks of these sciences is to connect religious practice and affiliation to other social phenomena, and how these practices were institutionalized through religious social institutions. The September 11th attacks also cast a shadow over the issue of Islamic religious education, through the claim that this education was one of the most important reasons that lay behind terrorism and violence, according to the interpretation of neoconservatives in the United States and similar currents in Europe. The discussions around Islam are still greatly controlled by political considerations and adopting binaries such as modernity versus tradition, secularism versus religion, and reason versus revelation. The role of Shariah colleges and Islamic studies in education and curricula is also part of this discussion. This introduction also tells the story of this book that begins with the author’s personal experience and his encounters with different knowledge systems. He felt the extent of the fractures of elite fighting, who at best ignore each other and do not speak to each other.
