The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS), established in 1984, is a quarterly, double blind peer-reviewed and interdisciplinary journal, published by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), and distributed worldwide. The journal showcases a wide variety of scholarly research on all facets of Islam and the Muslim world including subjects such as anthropology, history, philosophy and metaphysics, politics, psychology, religious law, and traditional Islam.
Figure 1: Steps in Communication AXIOM II 1. Each act of communication is separate and discrete and can be studied as such. 2. Communication is linear, in the sense that a message travels one way from a source to a receiver. 3.
The indiscriminate exportation of Western psychology to Muslim and third world countries can pose serious cultural and ideological dilemmas. When the exported commodity from North to South is physical in nature, the harm done can easily be identified; for example the quick detection of the life threatening birth defects caused by the drug thalidomide when taken during pregnancy or the flaws in the breaking system of a Japanese car. However, when the exported product is ideas and beliefs and ways of life, the indirect and sneaky damage, is often much more malevolent and long-lasting because it attacks the worldview of the recipients and it shakes their cherished beliefs. Because of its technological supremacy Islamic and developing countries got used to wholeheartedly accepting any information coming from the West if it is under the tag of “science”. By presenting itself under this prestigious ‘mantra’ of science, students in Muslim countries swallow the kernel of psychology with its nutshell; the baby with its filthy water. The danger of this approach is greatly augmented by the shortcomings of our educational systems that discourages critical thinking and encourages the submissive acceptance of the words of the teacher and that of printed material.
The first edition of this book was published in Arabic by the International Institute of Islamic thought in Cairo in 1991. Its introduction was written by His Eminence Shaykh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the President of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars. It was well received by Muslim scholars, psychologists and laymen since it succeeded in integrating Islamic spirituality and theology with modern psychology, linguistics, comparative religion and mental and physical health. It was reprinted in Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and used as a reference in Arabic Departments of psychology and education. Its second revised and updated edition was an English translation published by IIIT in London and printed by Cambridge University Press in the year 2000. The book generated highly thoughtful positive responses from reviewers. Some of them stated that reading it had greatly improved their ability to contemplate and had improved their practice of worshipping. Muslim scholars in different countries have stressed its value to non-English speaking Muslims and have obtained permission to translate it. The book is now published in different languages of the Islamic World such as Indonesian, Albanian and Malayalam.
The indiscriminate exportation of Western psychology to Muslim and third world countries can pose serious cultural and ideological dilemmas. When the exported commodity from North to South is physical in nature, the harm done can easily be identified; for example the quick detection of the life threatening birth defects caused by the drug thalidomide when taken during pregnancy or the flaws in the breaking system of a Japanese car. However, when the exported product is ideas and beliefs and ways of life, the indirect and sneaky damage, is often much more malevolent and long-lasting because it attacks the worldview of the recipients and it shakes their cherished beliefs. Because of the technological supremacy of the West, Islamic and developing countries got used to wholeheartedly accepting any information coming from Europe and the US, particularly if it is exported under the tag of “science”. By presenting itself under this prestigious ‘mantra’, students in Muslim countries swallow the kernel of psychology with its nutshell; the baby with its filthy water. The danger of this approach is greatly augmented by the shortcomings of our educational systems that discourages critical thinking and encourages the submissive acceptance of the words of the teacher and that of printed material
