A General Look at the Islamic and Islamic Philosophy Studies in the USA

Abstract

Islamic studies in the United States of America is a dense, productive, and globally acclaimed field because of the numerous academic opportunities and international publications in many languages, especially English. However, as in the general of Western universities, the Islamic philosophy/history studies at the universities of the U.S. is rather rare. In this article, firstly, the general state of Islamic Studies from the past to the present in the USA will be analyzed with a descriptive method and the rare position of Islamic Philosophy within the Islamic Studies will be examined. Secondly, the prominent names of the Islamic Philosophy in the Post-Orientalist process and their works will be evaluated. In conclusion, because of the general structure of the U.S. university system, it is revealed that the studies of Islamic Philosophy in the USA are quantitatively less than that in the European and Islamic geographies. This situation can be explicated by two ways. The first is the Islamic Philosophy’s weak relation to the knowledge-power target which is the basic principle of the American state philosophy and to the political interests of the U.S. This circumstance forms the background of the Post-Orientalist tendency. The second is the growing interest in the phenomenological method and the dominant positions of cosmopolitanism and interdisciplinary approaches in the American higher education system.Summary: The Islamic studies in the leading universities of the world and the Islamic philosophy studies taking place within these studies are a significant academic area of ​​interest. This interest has a history of 150 year-time in the United States of America. In recent years, there has been not only a significant increase but also a diversity in the Islamic studies in the United States. There has not been yet any academic work examining both the situation of Islamic studies in the U.S. and the Islamic philosophy studies in particular. By considering the latest developments, it is required to maintain studies concerning the field and to trace missing points in the studies of the Islamic philosophy.From this point of view, we will benefit from the research concerning university curricula, web scans, and written materials in the present article. Additionally, we will descriptively analyze the subject by scanning related books, articles, and other sources. The reason why we preferred this method is to present the general picture rather than carry out an in-depth research and to give information on the present circumstances. We did not choose other methods owing to the width of the area, the diversity of resources, and the structure of this subject requiring more particular and intensive work.This work is composed of two main headings. The first heading is related to the state of Islamic Studies in the U.S. Under this title, I stretch some information about how Islamic Studies in the U.S. followed a course from the 18th century onwards and provide details about its current state. The second title is related to the position of Islamic Philosophy in the Islamic Studies and in the U.S. academies. Under this title, by evaluating some academics and their works, I describe the phases in which the studies of Islamic Philosophy from the past to the present has gone through.It is seen that the works in the field of the Islamic studies have not reached to an adequate level though this field have a history of 150 year-time. Nevertheless, because of the academic opportunities and the multitude of international publications in different languages, especially in English, the works in this field at the U.S. Universities would be more intense and productive than expected. However, in spite of this, the variety of academic staff of the U.S. universities, at which phenomenological and interdisciplinary methods are preferred more, the wide variety of publications in diverse languages, especially in English, and the open academic activities via the social media in recent years have gradually increased the effectiveness of the U.S. in the field of the Islamic Studies. Such studies, having represented orientalist tendencies for a long time and conducted in the countries such as England, France, Germany, and the Netherlands which played a leading role in the Islamic studies in the past, continue at the present American universities by gaining an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary format. The most significant driving force behind the Islamic studies is orientalist propensities according to the academic works focusing on the Islamic studies in the U.S. In addition, it is necessary to touch on an increasing interest because of the events of September 11. This interest has contributed to not only emergence of new employment opportunities but also an increase in the number of researchers.If we look at the general circumstance of the Islamic philosophy studies at the U.S. universities, the second part of this work, it is difficult to say that these studies have diversities like those seen in the areas such as social, anthropological, and cultural studies. The Islamic philosophy studies at the U.S. universities is maintained under the general framework of the Islamic studies. At the beginning, the prominent figures of the orientalist tendencies and many others are carrying out researchin the field. Because of the U.S. academic system, these researchers publish different works not only about the Islamic philosophy but also about the history of Islamic science, Islamic history and civilization, Islam and the West, etc. Additionally, in order to educate students at the graduate level, they give lectures at different universities at which research in the Islamic Studies is carried on.From this point of view, we can state that the studies of Islamic philosophy is rare in comparison with other areas of the Islamic studies. The reasons for this are as follows:1-This area's weak connection to the knowledge-power goal, the basic principle of the American state philosophy, and to the American political interests. This political interest relationship established with sciences forms the background of the Post-Orientalist tendency. 2-The increasing interest in the phenomenological method at the American universities and the domination of cosmopolitanism and interdisciplinary approaches in the American higher education system.3-The courses of the Islamic philosophy in the Near East, the Middle East and the Islamic Studies at the U.S. universities occupy a place in the curricula as a part of the history of philosophy or philosophy.4-The partly lack of the rigid orientalist tendencies seen in the continental Europe and the pool method curricula formed by the requirement of the American state policies.5-Some experts of the Islamic philosophy left the field in order to concentrate more on the contemporary discussions and to study more on the debates produced from the question of the backwardness of Muslims. In conclusion, because the Islamic philosophy is not a discipline interested by all Muslims, the institutional structures, in which the Islamic philosophy studies are carried out, have not yet been formed outside the universities in the United States of America. In some departments, the Islamic Philosophy maintains its existence as a sub-branch of the history of the Islamic thought. On the other hand, the Islamic philosophy has not yet found an independent place at the U.S. universities. In the U.S., it is likely to claim that even if the number of the Islamic studies have not reached a sufficient level, these studies can lead other Islamic studies in the world.