Fethullah Gülen’s Epistemology of Integrated Islamic Education: Is it Possible to Realise?

Abstract

This research is motivated by the fact that education in most Muslim countries is still lagging behind and there is still a dichotomy between Islamic education and secular education. As a result, the Muslim generation has experienced obstacles in contributing to the development of world civilization where Muslims should reflect the Islamic principles of “rahmatan lil ‘alamin”. This is because Islamic education does not adjust to the progress and competition of the times. Fethullah Gülen’s educational epistemological thought tries to provide a solution to this problem by eliminating the dichotomy of education by creating an integrated Islamic education system. The purpose of this study is to find out in depth the epistemology of Islamic education from the perspective of Fethullah Gülen and its implementation in integrative Islamic education. The results of this study are: 1) The essence of the epistemology of Gülen’s Islamic education is wisdom, which is being able to combine useful knowledge accompanied by its practice in daily life; 2) The source of the epistemology of Islamic education comes from the five senses, intellect, and reliable reports (news) that come from other people or Allah’s messengers; 3) The purpose of Islamic education is to create kamil people who are able to master scientific, social and religious knowledge and practice it in their lives in order to create a world of global peace and progress; 4) The integrated Islamic education model according to Fethullah Gülen is similar to the integration model of neo-modernism, which is to combine Islamic traditions with the modernity of civilization.