HOW TO STUDY SOCIAL PHENOMENA IN MUSLIM SOCIETIES?: IDEAS, ISLAMIC REVIVALISM AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

Abstract

Studying social phenomena from the perspective of political science in the Muslim world is one of the most important tasks of contemporary social scientists. The job becomes even more important having in mind the turbulent times we are now witnessing in the Muslim world. As Muslims, we are often confronted with having to defend Islam on the one hand, and to remain objective social scientists on the other. This frequently results in an unfortunate apologetic leaning so prevalent among many Muslim scholars. I contend that this happens due to two reasons: (1) the unavailability of proper methodology of political science that would fulfill the requirements of both social sciences and Islamic value-framework, and (2) the lack of proper social science training among many Muslims who write on these issues. Admittedly, there were several attempts to frame and develop the methodology of political science from an Islamic perspective. Yet, these works were basically the general surveys and exploratory works. In short, they were the promising beginnings, but the beginnings nonetheless.