ABSTRACT
Founded in 1983 with an approach it calls “Islamization of Human Knowledge” (IoK), the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) was established according to the visions developed by prominent Islamic scholars Ismail al-Faruqi and Syed Muhammad Naqib al-Attas, with the aim of linking what they call “revelation and heritage” with social and human sciences. Before examining its curriculum, faculty research, and master’s and PhD theses, this chapter will start by presenting relevant information regarding the university as a whole, since its inception. This process will allow for an unfolding of the passage from a generation of faculty who established the IoK paradigm in order to streamline it, to a new generation that seeks to critically mainstream it. The aim is to show that this transition has been made possible due to the employment of Maqasid al-Shariah, and yet, despite this possibility, this shift is, and will continue to be, accompanied with some contradictions, tensions, and shortages. IIUM has summarized its mission with four concepts: Integration, Islamization, Internationalization and Comprehensive Excellence. The chapter found that some of these dimensions were well advanced while others were more challenging. Assessments of future progress by IIUM should include a focus on how it advances its liberal arts education, a vision dear to some faculty in IIUM itself.
