Afkaruna: International Journal of Islamic Studies (AIJIS)

Leadership Transformation in Islamic Educational Organizations: Between Spiritual Values and Managerial Effectiveness

2026-05-23T22:22:13+00:00

Leadership that embraces Islamic values as its foundation has a significant impact on all aspects of life. Teacher and staff loyalty, student religious character, and improved institutional performance are some of the benefits gained from integrating spiritual values with managerial effectiveness. Institutional leaders are required to transform their leadership and management practices to avoid being swayed by the negative effects of globalization and international integration. This study aims to examine in-depth the concept of integrating spiritual values with managerial effectiveness in Islamic education. This research uses a library research approach, drawing on various academic sources, including articles, books, and related research. The results indicate that transforming Islamic educational leadership will create an institution that upholds humanitarian values without neglecting performance. Leaders must possess the ability to focus on more than one aspect, but rather focus on two aspects: religious values and institutional performance. The conclusion of this study is that Islamic spiritual values, as a foundation for leadership, create unity for the institution, with managerial activities serving as a means of integrating them.

Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of Culture and the Dynamics of Modern Muslim Society

2026-05-19T02:22:06+00:00

This article examines Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy of culture and its relevance to the dynamics of modern Muslim society through a literature study. The study is motivated by contemporary socio-cultural problems, including the crisis of social solidarity, materialism, moral disintegration, and tensions between tradition and modernity. It aims to analyze Ibn Khaldun’s main concepts, particularly ‘ashabiyah, civilization (‘umran), social transformation, and the cyclical patterns of societal progress and decline, and relate them to contemporary Muslim societies. This qualitative study examines Ibn Khaldun’s primary works and relevant secondary literature in Islamic philosophy, sociology, and Islamic Studies. The findings show that Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy remains relevant for understanding social fragmentation, the weakening of collective identity, consumerist culture, and leadership crises in the modern Islamic world. The concept of ‘ashabiyah is not limited to tribal solidarity but also includes social, spiritual, and intellectual solidarity as a foundation for the revival of Islamic civilization. The study concludes that Ibn Khaldun’s thought provides a relevant philosophical framework for understanding cultural transformation and the civilizational challenges faced by Muslim societies in the modern era.

Zahrawiyya Program as a Model of Integrated Islamic Education for Women in Malabar

2026-08-19T06:15:15+00:00

Traditional Muslim women in Malabar were striving to find appropriate avenues for Islamic higher education without being deprived of modern education in the late 20th century. During this period, boys had greater access to higher education through the system of Islamic colleges, while opportunities for Muslim women remained limited. This situation created a societal need for an educational initiative that could integrate Islamic teaching with modern education for women, which emerged in the form of Zahrawiyya. This study explores the development and significance of Zahrawiyya as an educational response to the needs of Muslim women in Malabar. Employing a qualitative approach, the study draws on both primary and secondary data collected through semi-structured interviews with concerned authorities, direct observations, and document analysis. It examines the program’s historical significance, curriculum structure, teaching and learning methods, and influence on society and the academic world. The findings indicate that Zahrawiyya has provided Muslim women with opportunities to pursue higher education while maintaining Islamic educational values. The program also demonstrates the potential of integrating Islamic and modern education and can serve as a model of integrated education for Muslim women in Malabar.

The Issue of Competitiveness in Islamic Dimension: The Paradigmatic Case of Iranian Child Education

2026-04-12T07:12:28+00:00

Drawing on field‑based ethnographic research, this essay examines the public primary school system of the Islamic Republic of Iran under Āyatollāh Khāmeneī’s leadership, foregrounding the distinctive and pervasive role played by competitiveness. The analysis shows that, within the reward structures of these state‑run institutions, pedagogical practices are oriented towards forming educated citizens and morally upright Muslims, whose qualities of will and intention are cultivated primarily through extrinsic motivational devices. While examining the dynamics of competitiveness and success, the article argues that, in Iran, syncretic pedagogical approaches inspired by Montessori’s philosophy of education—which explicitly privilege intrinsic motivation—may create more favourable conditions for competitiveness to evolve beyond its traditionally antagonistic configuration. In this emerging framework, competitiveness may be reconceptualised as a propaedeutic force capable of supporting the fullest realisation of each individual’s potential. Such a reorientation would aim to prevent the dissipation of competitive energy in emulation, superiority‑seeking, or the avoidance of inferiority and exclusion, redirecting it instead towards the healthy flourishing of each child’s natural dispositions

The Nature of Man in Islam: a Critique to the Challenge of Homo Economicus Concept

2026-08-19T06:39:58+00:00

Homo Economicus has become a prevailing framework for understanding human behaviour in modern economics. The advancement of mathematics has led to the assumption that humans possess perfect calculating abilities and comprehensive knowledge of market and economic mechanisms, resulting in the mechanization of human nature. Therefore, understanding humanity from the Islamic worldview, while removing secularized assumptions in economics, can provide a more complete conception of man. This study aims to formulate an alternative conception of man in economics based on the Islamic worldview. Major works by Western economic philosophers and Muslim scholars, particularly Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, were historically contextualized and analyzed using philosophical reasoning, historical investigation, and comparative analysis. The study finds that the Homo Economicus concept, initially developed as a tool for understanding human behaviour in economics, has evolved into an ontological conception of humanity oriented toward wealth accumulation. In contrast, the Islamic worldview considers man fundamentally good and unselfish, with the purpose of worshipping Allah SWT by spreading goodness to all creation. This understanding is manifested through a just economic system that considers individual and societal well-being to achieve true happiness in this world and the hereafter.