Towards Authentic Islamic Academic publications

No Doubt that most if not all of what is “academic” and published within the social sciences in English language is essentially of a western ethnocentric approach. From general Eurocentric approaches to political theory that completely dismiss any particularist approaches and embrace a forced universality, to research that is geared towards the policy makers and aim to provide some sort of strategy to perpetuate “western” interests in the Islamic World.

One might say that there are some “Orientals” Muslims/Arabs that do have a voice (or perhaps pen/ or laptop?) and do have a share in western academia. Of course they are very few in numbers but also tend to be a “prostitute” to the academic political culture and unrevealed intrinsic norms that allow works containing certain ideas to be published while others not to be so. In other words they say what the general academic community wants to hear and rarely do have anything against this mainstream to be said. And if it is against the mainstream it is never of an ideological caliber but merely an analytical/ methodological dilemma.

I have not done research nor examined major publications within social sciences but this seems to be a pattern to me. That what is portrayed as “Moderate” is always some how apologetic to the west and condones their demands in Arab and Muslim Countries, which are not value free universal as they claim. But rather often religiously and culturally conflicting with our terms.

Democratization becomes the new religion, “development” the new tradition and Islam needs to be reformed, secularists need to be empowered and so forth. While in reality such academic notions that seemingly belong to “natives” of Muslim Countries are merely small minority that have a larger say in the western academia. Of course someone like Bin Laden will never have a publication in the West this is not to say that his Ideas lack any intellect but the west in general is not interested in what he has to say, nor even most of what he says is translated to English in Western Media or even academic circles.. I am only using such an example to assert my point. This is not to say that having our “own” Publications will solve such problems, the power structures of western academia still remain and will still impede other more genuinely native and sincere academic attempts.

To go back again at what I said earlier these supposedly “Native” Muslim academics are merely post-colonials in mentality. They have been ideologically tamed and demised that they accept major fundamental western notions of modernity even if they claim to engage in critical thinking. Much More needs to be said from truly Natives say like “Islamic Fundamentalists” like my self and others whom share my concerns of implementing shari’a and the re-Islamization of the social, economic and political arena without being extremely peculiar in adopting many and lengthily odd opinions or even ideas that completely go against the principles of Islam.

This also gives opportunities for various Muslim academics and Scholars of Islamic Jurisprudence to address Challenges facing Islam in our contemporary age and proposing various solutions for them. Solutions that are conducive to our cause and arising from a conscious will to support it.