At least since the 1970's until around the early 1990s, developing a new discourse on Islam and science, with the emergence of the idea of Islamic science (Islamic science) or the Islamization of knowledge (Islamization of science). Regardless of who first used this term, in reality there are quite diverse (group) Muslim thinkers who interpret this term with a different - and not infrequently there is disagreement among the various opinions of it.
Because of the more popular is the term in English, there are some important and interesting things to note in connection with the use of the word "science" or "science", "Islamisation", and the word Islamic in the Islamic sciences.
First, the development of the various terms shows how seriously the challenges that faced modern science to the intellectual development of Islam. As already described above, this actually has started since the end of the 19th century. However, no effective effort to catch Muslims from the West in previous eras have been crystallized into a "movement" with this new orientation. In some groups, these two new terms, Islamic science and the Islamization of knowledge in fact seemed to just simply be a new outfit from the effort that has been done a few thinkers in earlier times - sometimes more effectively.
The term "science" (science) itself has only secured a distinctive meaning in the development of scientific activities in the Western world since many centuries. There "science" is considered a model of the most superior branch of science, because the most rapid development than other branches of science. Is the underlying assumption is that the habit of modern English - in contrast to most other languages - to distinguish science, as that term is used for the natural sciences or the "exact sciences" ("definitely"), from various branches of science, especially social sciences and humanities.
That is why developing a term like Islamic science and Islamic science and the translation of science by a number of people of Indonesia and Malaysia with "science" and "Islamic science". However, because the term "science" is over the term of the English language, and over the terminology that is based on a distinction between a branch of science that "exact" and the "less exact", which has been often disputed, this article further uses the term "science" rather than "science". It should be added that the discourse of "Islamization of knowledge" and "Islamic science" focused on natural science, although not limited to it.
Technological developments as a result of the development of science is also very fascinating people, not to mention Muslims. As a result, some Muslim scholars just trying to keep pace with the Muslims took over the overall technology and modern Western science. However, others are not satisfied with the attitude and demanded "Islamisation" of science or the development of "Islamic science".
The originator of Islam or Islamisation of science arguments start from the premise that science is not value free. That's why the values of a religion can be included in discussions about science. Then the reasonable thing to do if an attack against this idea is usually in the form of efforts to preserve this important premise. And this usually comes from the Muslim practitioners of science such as Abdus Salam.
It is clear that "Islamic science" is a modern term. We can not find the equivalent term in the classical Islamic literature, including in the so-called "Golden Age" of Islam. In fact, it could be the term was first used by the Orientalists as studies of modern Orientalism began late last century. In the 1920s, for example, the science historian George Sarton in his monumental work uses this term to refer to a period in the history of science when the support of rulers, Muslim scientists (and, some small, non-Muslims) produced masterpieces large in the fields of science.
Orientalist George Anawati even mention the efforts of "Islamisation" branches of science which is obtained mainly from the Greek tradition. He also mentioned that natural science is the area least affected Islamization compared with, say, metaphysics.
So, here the term "Islam (i)" is used to refer to two things at once: the first is a historical period, as the term "modern", "medieval", "classic" or "Greek" is used, the second, an activity who infiltrated Islamic values. Both of these meanings often appear in contemporary discussions about modern science and Islam.
Four contemporary Muslim thinkers who can represent this new discourse was Syed Hossein Nasr, Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, and Ziauddin Sardar. It is no coincidence that four educated at universities in America and Europe, and especially writing in English. The new discourse is indeed growing, especially among English-speaking Islamic intellectual community, the newly emerged clearly after the first half of the 20th century this.
