The relevance of tertiary Islamic studies curriculum to contemporary needs

Abstract

The paper aims at discussing the relevance of Islamic Studies offered at university level education in Malaysia to the contemporary needs. The focus is on the roles, experience and approach of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in translating its educational ideals into practice with particular emphasis on the roles of the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS). To begin with, the paper clarifies two key terms namely Islamic Studies and contemporary needs. The former is compared to the nomenclature used by IIUM i.e. Islamic Revealed Knowledge including its epistemological implications and impact for implementation. The latter (contemporary needs) tries to highlight the different nature of the present needs compared to the past ones in a number of respects and the implications of this contextual understanding for educational strategy, approach and contents. With a brief introduction of IIUM as a background, the paper continues to discuss the conventional and non-conventional roles of KIRKHS in greater detail highlighting its approach, strategies and academic contents in meeting its educational ideals and contemporary stakeholders' expectations. The elaboration also includes the examples of initiatives and programmes, achievements as well as its limitations and constraints. The paper ends with Challenges" and "Concluding Remarks" sections."