Centre for Advanced Studies on Islam, Science and Civilisation (CASIS)

An institute that seeks to inculcate authentic Islamic knowledge and profound understanding of other historic civilisations and the contemporary world.

The Centre for Advanced Studies on Islam, Science, and Civilisation (CASIS) is a new centre of excellence at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and is linked to the Faculty of Islamic Civilisation (FTI).

CASIS seeks to promote post-graduate scholarship and learning for the advancement of knowledge in the fields of study relating to Islam, Science, and Civilisation and their allied sciences under the ambit of the worldview of Islam in full cognisance of relevant developments in other civilisations, especially in the contemporary world.

The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas

Ed. John L. Esposito, Reviewed by Maryam Jameelah

[Wan Mohd Nor Wan Daud, The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al‑Attas, ISTAC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia]

"The currency of modern educational ideas in the Islamic lands is a historical testimony to the epical failure of the Muslims over the past two hundred years, and practices are the slow, but inexorable, unravelling of the Muslim mind. Education in the contemporary world is like the most pervasive ‘conveyor belt’ transmitting the ideas of the dominant culture and the values system of politico‑economic elite to the credulous and dominated generations. Education in the true Foucaldian sense is plugged into the grid of reigning ideas and values, not necessarily predicated on ‘truth’. It is also a master technology of control, which leaves nothing untouched. The content of modern education and the whole process of schooling/disciplining are aimed at ‘manufacturing’ human beings to fulfil certain political and socio-economic objectives set by the political powers that be. The individual and the needs of his self are absent from the whole project of modern education.

Prof. Naquib al-Attas: The Concept of Education in Islam

The keynote address delivered by Prof. Naquib al-Attas at the "First World Conference on Muslim Education" in March 1977.
ISTAC