Ismail al-Faruqi’s Contribution to the Academic Study of Religion

Abstract

Today, there is a general absence of Muslim academics in the area of academic study of religion. This paper surveys the contributions of Professor Ismail al-Faruqi as a rare Muslim academic who pioneered modern age Muslim engagement in this field. His contributions to phenomenology and history of religion remain largely unrecognised. The globalising age requires the Muslim academics engage in the academic study of religion in both confessional and academic ways at the same time. There is a need to revisit the contributions of Ismail al-Faruqi to find leads and develop new Muslim approaches to the academic study of religion and its areas of phenomenology and history of religion, comparative theology and interreligious dialogue employing philosophically critical and scientific tools without ideologising Islam.