More Critical Thinkers for Islamic Governance

Abstract

Critical thinking is often misunderstood negatively as the unending pursuit of faults for criticism. Rather, it is a performative practice to develop critical judgements and produce impactful outcomes. It goes beyond higher-order thinking skills to also include strong commitments to one's core belief and purpose. 4 Additionally, critical thinking is not confined to personal achievements, but also the collective drawing upon group criticality to reap abundant societal benefits. Muslim minds require such criticality, but socio-religious taboos surrounding the notion may hinder, as it is often associated with dissent and heresy. As such, the education system may not promote critical thinking and thus leads to backwardness. This is the current situation faced by many Muslim societies. Such misconceptions need to be addressed. Critical thinking has been discussed by Muslim and Western secular scholars for centuries, however, its necessity is arguably more important today than ever before. With the lack of advanced Muslim polymaths, as seen in older generations, and the increasingly sophisticated nature of various fields, Muslims require the knowledge and confidence to undergo such way of thinking, not as an end but a means to achieve the Maqāṣid or objectives of the Sharī'ah. 5 In this paper, we will first argue that the inclusion of critical thinking is a religious obligation. Then, we propose that the foundation of these skills must form within early religious