Unintended Consequences? The Commodification of Ideas in Tertiary Education and their Effects on Muslim Students

Abstract

Islamic education, from a holistic point of view, is more than just the direct transmission of the pure Islamic sciences. It encompasses other branches of specialisation and ideally accompanies Muslims, through reflections of the Islamic worldview, during their formal and informal formation. This paper reflects how, in the contemporary tertiary education in the Islamic world, commodified concepts stemming from a non-Islamic worldview are being proliferated, and what the expected results are for Muslim students. The paper expounds on differences in worldview and educational systems and the commodification of ideas. It gives examples from business school curricula, psychology and the impact of teaching in a foreign language, to summarise (un)intended consequences on the students’ educational developments. It also shows how the agency of the theory of Maqāṣid, the higher objectives of Islamic law, has immersed Islamic thought in reaction to the bias in the educational system.