Policies and patterns of integration of science and religion in Indonesian Islamic higher education

By Irham, Universitas Islam 45 Bekasi

The integration of science and religion in the contemporary Islamic world has been debated. This article examines the policies and patterns of integration of science and religion in Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia, focusing on Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN/Universitas Islam Negeri) Jakarta. This research is a field study whose primary sources are obtained through document data and interviews. The results show that, first, the integration policy officially rejects the Islamization of science but combines religious and general sciences or vice versa. This integration is patterned by identifying core and auxiliary sciences, and if the core science is religious, then the auxiliary science is general science and vice versa. Second, integration is seen from the work of lecturers, which is formulated into five forms, as follows: first, integration of scientific themes that are related; second, integration of references; third, integration of all sciences; fourth, integration of philosophical foundations (epistemological, ontological, and axiological); and fifth, integration of Islamic science with social science and cultural science approaches. This research concludes that the integration pattern at UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta is open, which allows it to continue to grow. This pattern can be referred to as open integration. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-024-01378-9

Introduction

Religious and intellectual leaders have long discussed the integration of knowledge at the national and global levels (Akbar, 2019; Çoruh, 2020; Hossein Khani, 2020). Globally, the Islamization of science is an attempt to integrate science with Islam, as Ismail al-Faruqi and Naquib al-Attas stated (Al-Attas, 1985; Al-Faruqi, 1987). Seyyed Hossein Nasr also has the concept of Islamization of knowledge, even though it is criticized as very utopian (Bukhari, 2019). In Indonesia, science integration is also discussed massively, especially after the transformation of Indonesian Islamic higher education institutions from State Islamic Institutes (Institut Agama Islam Negeri/IAIN) to State Islamic Universities (Universitas Islam Negeri/UIN). However, it does not use the framework of Islamisation of science.

Among the prominent figures who developed the concept of integration include Amin Abdullah, whose concept of integration and interconnection is symbolized by a spider's web. He also published his new book on multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary religious and Islamic studies (Abdullah, 2020). This concept later became the basis for the development of integration at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta. This is different from Imam Suprayogo, a figure from UIN Malang who initiated integration with the concept of the tree of knowledge, and this concept is the guideline for UIN Maliki Malang. UIN Surabaya developed the concept of integration with the Twins Tower symbol (Zainiyati, 2016). UIN Jakarta developed the concept of integration of knowledge without using symbols (metaphors). Azyumardi Azra tried to term this approach by reintegrating knowledge (Azra, 2000, 2013a).

In addition to discussing the concept of integration, leaders from pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) also participated in formulating the concept of integration. KH. Sahal Mahfudh is one of the pesantren leaders with the concept of integration with scientific synergy. Specifically, scientific synergy integrates the yellow book (kitab kuning) with various references and various other disciplines (Mahfudh, 1999, pp. 101–108). The integration of the pesantren tradition with the modern tradition is desired from the scientific synergy method so that the contextualization of the yellow book occurs. The concept of integration within Islamic educational institutions can then be said to be a characteristic of open Islamic education (Irham, 2022). The idea of integrating science and religion in Indonesia has even been discussed since President Sukarno. According to him, religious knowledge and general science should not have a dichotomy (Kurniawan, 2018).

In the context of Islamic higher education, the relationship between religion and science in that academic orientation is still an unfinished issue. If you look at contemporary developments, the scientific orientation of Islamic campuses worldwide is very diverse. There is an Islamic campus whose orientation is ideological and instils a certain religious sect, such as al-Mustafa International University (Banikamal & Ra’ees, 2018; Zulkifli, 2015), including those in Arabia, such as the Islamic University of Medina (Farquhar, 2015). There are also Islamic campuses that are considered failed and difficult to revitalise, and unproductive such as Niger Islamic University Lahore Pakistan (Haron, 2016). In Palestine, Islamic campuses provide education on Islamic values and Palestinian traditions, risks/dangers of war and awareness/emergency management (R. Abunamous, 2020; R. E. S. Abunamous et al., 2020). In Malaysia, Islamic universities are trying to integrate religion and science but with the concept of Islamisation, as IIUM has done (Hanafi, 2021). Islamisation of knowledge is also being undertaken by Islamic universities in Nigeria but faces serious challenges, including the lack of a universally acceptable model of Islamisation (Adebayo, 2016). In Europe, Islamic universities are trying to shift the paradigm from ‘teaching into’ to ‘teaching about’ the teachings of Islam (Berger, 2021). In India, Islamic campuses are also integrating global discourse with Islamicism (Pedersen, 2016). The Islamic colleges in America endeavour to facilitate and condition the formation of a modern Muslim subjectivity, meaning there is an effort to integrate Islam with modernity (Sinclair, 2016).

The description above shows that integrating science and religion in Islamic universities appears diverse, and some still need to make it an important issue. This article portrays Islamic higher education in Indonesia, specifically Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta, in relation to integrating science and religion. This campus was chosen because it was the first Islamic tertiary institution to transform from the State Islamic Institute (IAIN) to a State Islamic University. Many previous studies have been carried out on this topic; for example, Nurlena Rifai et al. conducted an integration study at UIN Jakarta and several other UINs in Indonesia, the conclusion of which was that the integration of UIN Jakarta did not yet have a form; this is different from that of other UINs, which have a form of integration with metaphorical terms. UIN Yogyakarta uses the term integration-interconnection with a spider's web, UIN Malang uses the term tree of knowledge, etc. (Rifai et al., 2014). Almost 15 years since 2002, the integration of UIN Jakarta has been carried out individually by lecturers, so the integration is still looking for forms.

This view aligns with that of Bambang Suryadi et al., who explored the perceptions of students and lecturers. The results indicate that integration is still experiencing problems. The problems encountered during the implementation of the integrated curriculum include the absence of clear guidelines for implementing the integrated curriculum, the lack of competence of lecturers in carrying out the integration in the learning process, the lack of specific nomenclature regarding the concept of integration, and the limited time allotted when studying Islamic studies in the natural sciences study program. However, students and lecturers positively perceive the integrative curriculum at this Islamic university (Suryad et al., 2018). This research differs from the results of subsequent studies, which show dynamic integration at UIN Jakarta.

Zulkifli et al. conducted further research to explore integration specifically at UIN Jakarta. The findings show that at UIN Jakarta, knowledge integration is dynamic rather than singular. At least based on this study's results, there are three types of knowledge integration concepts. The first is the official (formal) conception, the second is the conception of senior academics, and the third is the conception of general lecturers (Zulkifli et al., 2020). Unfortunately, Zulkifli only formulated the integration style of senior and general lecturers based on lecturer discussion forums and formal integration needed to be discussed in depth.

Ronald Lukens Bull conducted a study that generally examines the development of Indonesian Islamic universities from a political science perspective (Lukens-Bull, 2013). Lukens-Bull previously also discussed the two sides of Islamic educational institutions in Indonesia, modernity and traditionality, which cannot be separated (Lukens-Bull, 2001). A similar study was also conducted by Florian Polh, who proved that the study of religion in Indonesian Islamic universities was conducted academically and integrated with theological and ethical-political goals. Polh's findings are different from those of previous researchers in the 19th century (Pohl, 2015). Islamic universities in Indonesia have undergone modernization, described in Dhofier's terms as intellectualization (Dhofier, 1992). Elisabeth Jackson emphasizes that Indonesian Islamic higher education has successfully integrated Western concepts and values with Islam, especially in civic education (Jackson, 2007). Although these studies are about Islamic universities in Indonesia, this article differs from previous studies because it specifically examines the policy and pattern of scholarly integration, which is focused on UIN Jakarta. The pattern of integration described in this article differs from the Islamization of science, as previously mentioned. This article contributes to framing the integration of science and religion with an open integration pattern that Islamic universities in Indonesia and the world can develop.

For the full article, please click https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10734-024-01378-9?sharing_token=_JewI7Be_D393vOsaThfffe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY4WeO6MbbiP7NIpYyGze7t8J2DI3ooY8QuF6rc5jskS9myOSShwI8Hepr7L8TPVQnz6-19SjevKP4AOKMKVC4XczXO3Q_gUt8OTsq6w5Kv3Dg-w4Ei56JcCDGbw8ltaGwI%3D or here