A Critical Assessment on Kuntowijoyo’s Pengilmuan Islam in Reference to Islamization of Knowledge Educational Philosophy

Abstract

Kuntowijoyo is widely-known in Indonesia as the propagator of pengilmuan Islam discourse, which he declared as an alternative discourse from the Islamization of knowledge that he sees as trivial and reactive. In this article, we would like to assess Kuntowijoyo’s comprehension of Islamization of knowledge to analyze the relevance of pengilmuan Islam as his alternative proposal to it, from his own words with references to primary and secondary references, and contrast it with the actual proposal of Islamization of knowledge from its original thinkers. The result is that while Kuntowijoyo openly declares his opposition to the term, he still acknowledges the need for the Islamization of knowledge in certain key parts of his writings while still being polemical. This article unveils his true view on the Islamization of knowledge and the problem lies with his understanding of the discourse, which is significant to the consequences in Islamic education that his discourse will lead to a false sense of Islamic development in knowledge