Multidimensional Challenges of Modernism and Post-Modernism towards Islamic Education in Malaysia

Abstract

Modernism and post-modernism elements have been posing serious challenges to the Muslim world and its society since the eighteenth century. They tend to have disruptive and disorienting effects on various aspects of social life. Muslim countries have been afflicted with modernism and post-modernism which were fast-spread through colonialism. The challenges were complex and covered all facets of the Muslim life. However, these challenges took on a more definite shape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Islamic modernists argued that Islam and modernity were compatible and asserted the need to reinterpret and reapply the principles and ideals of Islam to formulate new responses to the political, scientific, and cultural challenges of the West and of modern life. They are anxious to produce modernist Muslim intellectuals who would be able to face Western intellectuals and participate actively in the development of their countries and societies, by means of a selective synthesis of Islam and modernity. Meanwhile, the traditionalists have all along queried and opposed to the reformist moves. They reacted defiantly to conserve what they believed to be the true undivided truth. They envisaged that the (reformist) have put the ummah at jeopardy by distorting the sacred truth of Islam and through infusion of foreign hazardous elements into the minds of the ummah. In the Malay-Indonesian (Jawi) world, Islamic renewal and reformism, originated in criss-crossing networks of Islamic scholars were based in Egypt. They belong to a reformist tradition stretching back to the mid–19th century, initiated by Muslim intellectuals including Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) in India, Syed Jamaluddin Al–Afghani (1838-1897) across the Middle East and Central and South Asia, and Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) in Egypt. In the Malaysian historical context of modernism, Sayid Sheikh al-Hadi (1867-1934) and Sheikh Muhammad Tahir Jalaluddin (1869-1956) and many others are the proponents of Islamic modernism. They were greatly influenced by Jamaluddin al-Afghani (1838-1897) and Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905). Sayid Shaikh al-Hadi‟s concept of Islamic education manifested by his criticism was mainly directed towards the pondok, the madrasah and the mystical orders. This paper tries to explore how Muslims in Malaysia over the past century together with the rest of the world acted defiantly to confront multi-dimensional challenges posed by modernity and post-modernity. The challenges posed to Islamic education in Malaysia during the period will be highlighted due to its vital importance.