Eighth to the Sixteenth Century - Rashid Islamic Center

232 • The Making of Islamic Scienceproduce enough religious scholars of the same caliber as they nowdo, there will be other madĀris fulfilling that role; and (ii) grantedthat modern science has expanded and each of its branches hasbecome extremely demanding, there is yet no proof that its studyand practice is only possible at the expense of all other subjects; afterall, contemporary scientists emerge from institutions where theystudy many other disciplines before specializing in a given branchof science. There is absolutely no reason why a person who hasmemorized the Noble QurāĀn at the traditional young age of sevenor ten, and who has acquired sufficient grounding in one of the areasof religious sciences by the age of twenty along with an elementarystudy of natural sciences, cannot dedicate the next ten years of his orher life to master chemistry or physics or astronomy in an institutionwhere these sciences have become part and parcel of a new curriculabased on the Islamic view of nature.In any case, what is being proposed is not a fixed recipe but apractical solution that needs to be implemented through a creativeand dynamic collaboration between serious and dedicated scientists,social scientists, and religious scholars. What is needed as a firststep is the establishment of a new institution—a dual-purposemadrasa—where the vision of Islamic science can become a reality.This is certainly not too much to ask; ten or fifteen better-organizedand better-funded madĀris in moderately prosperous Muslim statessuch as Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iran can be easilyturned into such institutions. These newly established dual-purposemadĀris can begin by attracting a certain number of accomplishedscientists, creative men and women trained as social scientists, andĂulamĀ, dedicated to the task of creatively exploring practical waysto establish a tradition of science anchored in the profound vision ofIslam as a fulfillment of a fară al-kifĀyah that no one has undertakenso far. A serious and dedicated initiative of this kind can easilyproduce visible results within a short period of time and certainlyby the time these dual-purpose madĀris produce their first crop ofĂulamĀā-scientists by 2025.Once sufficient creative links have been established betweenworking scientists, ĂulamĀ, Muslim thinkers, and social scientists,there would emerge natural affinities and intellectual links with