Majid and Aljunied's Criticism of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas' Islamization of Knowledge

Abstract

The Islamization of Knowledge (IoK) pioneered by Al-Attas since 1977 remains debated among Muslim intellectuals. Majid and Aljunied argue that IoK rests on unfounded assumptions of civilizational difference and produces only secularism-in-reverse. However, this critique targets the IoK movement collectively, not Al-Attas’ philosophical construction specifically. This article analyzes the validity of Majid-Aljunied's critique against Al-Attas' IoK concept. Using qualitative library research and content analysis of Al-Attas' primary works and the Majid-Aljunied article, three findings emerge. First, Al-Attas' IoK holds that knowledge is never value-free, requiring worldview reorientation through de-Westernization and Islamization, with adab and ta'dib at its core. Second, of four Majid-Aljunied criticisms, only the first targets Al-Attas; the remaining three address the IoK movement broadly. Third, the critique is conceptually limited, strong in historiographical correction but failing to engage Al-Attas' core framework, which rejects the veneer approach and claims no civilizational purification. This article offers a more balanced reading of Majid-Aljunied's critique of Al-Attas' Islamization of Knowledge.