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Islam And The Science Of Economics, Syed Farid Alatas
Islam And The Science Of Economics, Syed Farid Alatas
farid alatas
Economists have generally maintained a rigorous separation between positive and normative economics. In the Muslim world, however, concerted attempts have been made to relate moral conduct to economic institutions and practices. Demands for an alternative theory and practice of development to both modernization and Marxist theories had led to the rise of Islamic economics. But while Islamic economic thinking presents an ideal of development that is based on an Islamic philosophy of life, it is beset by a number of problems which make it difficult to be considered as an alternative to modernist discourse as far as empirical theory is …
Islam And Modernization, Syed Farid Alatas
Islam And Modernization, Syed Farid Alatas
farid alatas
Modernity refers to the end result of the process of modernization. It is the condition that a society attains after having gone through specific patterns of social and economic change which began in Western Europe in the eighteenth century and which has been spreading throughout the rest of the world. The process of modernization refers to the introduction of modern scientific knowledge to increasing aspects of human life, first of all in Western civilization, then to non-Western societies, by different means and groups, with the final aim of achieving a better life as defined by the society concerned (Alatas, S.H. …
Hadhramaut And The Hadhrami Diaspora: Problems In Theoretical History, Syed Farid Alatas
Hadhramaut And The Hadhrami Diaspora: Problems In Theoretical History, Syed Farid Alatas
farid alatas
If we understand history as a field constituted by a type of research and inquiry that concerns itself with human action in the past and is based on the interpretation of evidence, regardless of whether positivist or interpretive methods are used, then it can be said that historical works on Hadhramaut and its diaspora have been written. These works can be divided in broad terms into the two general categories of Arab and Western historiography. Nevertheless, in both cases, owing to certain theoret- ical problems that have beset these works, little progress has been made in the advancement of Hadhrami …
The Sacralization Of The Social Sciences: A Critique Of An Emerging Theme In Academic Discourse, Syed Farid Alatas
The Sacralization Of The Social Sciences: A Critique Of An Emerging Theme In Academic Discourse, Syed Farid Alatas
farid alatas
This paper critically evaluates the idea of "Islamic social science" in terms of its expression in Islamic economics and, more recently, in the Islamizatio of knowledge project. Islamic economics was conceived of in the 1930s while the beginnings of the Islamization of knowledge project can be traced to the 1970s. Islamic social science seeks to bring back religious experience and spirituality into knowledge by means of the sacralization of academic dis- course. The process of secularization in the West is seen to have rendered Muslim scholars incapable of comprehending the causes of the problems that beset Muslim society. The 1970s …
Reflections On The Idea Of Islamic Social Science, Syed Farid Alatas
Reflections On The Idea Of Islamic Social Science, Syed Farid Alatas
farid alatas
When we refer to Islamic social science what do we mean? In what ways can the social sciences be Islamic? There are two such ways. One involves approaching specifically Muslim problems, that is, problems found in Muslim society, in a social scientific manner. An example would be the issue of the relationship between religion and the state. Concepts developed in Western social science would be modified and applied to achieve this aim. The other way in which social science can be Islamic goes beyond the former and involves the idea that social scientific theories, concepts and methodologies can be derived …
Notes On Various Theories Regarding The Islamization Of The Malay Archipelago, Syed Farid Alatas
Notes On Various Theories Regarding The Islamization Of The Malay Archipelago, Syed Farid Alatas
farid alatas
In the study of the history of the Islamization of the Malay Archipelago (present-day Malaysia and Indonesia) various theories and points of view have been presented and the issue of objectivity arises in this context as clearly as in any writing of history. Mannheim's thesis that "the greatest comprehensiveness and the greatest fruitfulness in dealing with empirical materials" are the criteria to be applied in the choice between various interpretations' would seem to be relevant also in this case.