Main Article Content
Abstract
This study addresses a persistent gap in Islamic education scholarship: although modernization, Westernization, epistemic dependency, and Islamic educational reform have been widely discussed, Necmettin Erbakan’s educational thought has not been adequately reconstructed into an integrated framework that links scientific advancement, moral-spiritual formation, epistemic autonomy, and institutional reform. Using qualitative document analysis, the study examines Erbakan’s major writings, parliamentary speeches, and selected National Outlook documents through theoretically informed thematic analysis. Multiple Modernities, epistemic dependency, and taʾdīb function as complementary analytical lenses while allowing themes to emerge inductively from the corpus. The findings reveal three interconnected dimensions: the critique of the imitative mentality as a source of educational and intellectual dependency; the integration of scientific competence with spiritual, moral, and cultural formation; and the reconstruction of curricula, knowledge-producing institutions, and transnational academic cooperation to strengthen educational autonomy. These findings are synthesized into an emergent model of Value-Based Modernization. The study’s theoretical contribution lies in integrating dimensions usually treated separately, alternative modernity, epistemic autonomy, Islamic human formation, and institutional reconstruction, into a coherent educational model. It thereby extends contemporary debates on Islamic modernities and decolonial education by positioning Islamic education as an active mechanism for culturally grounded modernization within contemporary Muslim educational contexts undergoing rapid change.
Keywords
Article Details
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
References
- Abdul-Jabbar, W. K. (2026). The ethics of disagreement (adab al-ikhtilaf): Religious education for intercultural competence in Arabo-Islamic pedagogy. British Journal of Religious Education, 48(3), 344–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2619036
- Ahmed, F. (2021). Authority, autonomy and selfhood in Islamic education—Theorising Shakhsiyah Islamiyah as a dialogical Muslim-self. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(14), 1520–1534. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1863212
- Ahmed, F., & Chowdhury, S. (2025). Rethinking contemporary schooling in Muslim contexts: An Islamic conceptual framework for reconstructing K–12 education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 57(2), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2024.2411325
- Alatas, S. H. (1977). The myth of the lazy native: A study of the image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th century and its function in the ideology of colonial capitalism. London: Frank Cass.
- Al-Attas, S. M. N. (1980). The concept of education in Islam: A framework for an Islamic philosophy of education. Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM).
- Al-Attas, S. M. N. (1993). Islam and secularism. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization.
- Alkouatli, C. (2022). Muslim educators’ pedagogies: Tools for self, social, and spiritual transformation. Harvard Educational Review, 92(1), 107–133. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-92.1.107
- Alkouatli, C. (2024). Illuminating data beyond the tangible: Exploring a conceptually-relevant paradigmatic frame for empirical inquiry with Muslim educators. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 37(8), 2466–2484. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2024.2318301
- Almoaibed, H., & Keating, A. (2025). Education and policy borrowing in the Arabian Gulf: Technical and vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Arabian Studies, 14(2), 330–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2025.2495185
- Ambya, R., Erihadiana, M., Priatna, T., & Nasir, T. M. (2025). Modernization and national identity: Quantitative insights into the role of Islamic education in Malaysia. Al-Ishlah: Jurnal Pendidikan, 17, 878–893. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v17i1.6611
- Berman, M. (1988). All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. London: Penguin Books.
- Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
- Cook, J. B. (1999). Islamic versus Western conceptions of education: Reflections on Egypt. International Journal of Educational Development, 45(3/4), 339–357. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003808525407
- Dalay, G., & Friedman, D. (2013). The AK Party and the evolution of Turkish political Islam’s foreign policy. Insight Turkey, 15(2), 123–139. https://www.insightturkey.com/articles/the-ak-party-and-the-evolution-of-turkish-political-islams-foreign-policy
- Eisenstadt, S. N. (1966). Modernization: Protest and change. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
- Eisenstadt, S. N. (2000). Multiple modernities. Daedalus, 129(1), 1–29. Retrived from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279625478_Multiple_Modernities
- Eisenstadt, S. N. (2002). Multiple modernities. In N. Göle (Ed.), Snapshots of Islamic modernities (pp. 91–118). Oxfordshire: Routledge.
- Erbakan, N. (1973). Mecliste ortak pazar [Common Market in parliament]. Ankara: Tek Yol Neşriyat.
- Erbakan, N. (1975). Milli görüş [National outlook]. Istanbul: Dergah Yayınları.
- Erbakan, N. (1976). Millet Meclisi Konuşması: Materyalizm ve Maneviyatçılık [Speech to the National Assembly: Materialism and spiritualism]. Ankara: Başbakanlık Yardımcılığı Basın Müşavirliği.
- Erbakan, N. (1991). Türkiye’nin meseleleri ve çözümleri [Turkey’s issues and solutions]. Ankara: Semih Ofset Matbaacılık.
- Erbakan, N. (2014). Erbakan külliyatı: Cilt 1 [Erbakan collection: Volume 1] (T. Çetinkaya, Ed.). Ankara: MGV Yayınları.
- Erbakan, N. (2020). Davamız [Our cause] (Y. Aktaş, Ed.). Istanbul: Aktaş Yayınları.
- Faruqi, I. R. (1982). Islamization of knowledge. Virginia: International Institute of Islamic Thought.
- Heath, J. (2004). Liberalization, modernization, westernization. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 30(5–6), 665–690. https://doi.org/10.1177/0191453704045760
- Huntington, S. P. (1968). Political order in changing societies. Connecticut: Yale University Press.
- Huntington, S. P. (1996). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York: Simon & Schuster.
- Husain, S. S., & Ashraf, S. A. (1981). Islamic versus Western conceptions of education: Reflections on Egypt. Islamic Quarterly, 25(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003808525407
- Jung, D. (2024). A theory of “Islamic modernities”: Religion and modernisation in Muslim history. Intellectual Discourse, 32(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.31436/id.v32i1.2118
- Latouche, S. (1996). The westernization of the world (R. Morris, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Lerner, D. (1958). The passing of traditional society. New York: Free Press.
- Lerner, D. (1968). Modernization. In The international encyclopaedia of the social sciences. London: Macmillan.
- Mardin, Ş. (1991). Türk modernleşmesi [Turkish modernization]. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
- Müslüman Topluluklar Birliği. (1992). I. İşbirliği toplantısı: 31 Mayıs–1 Haziran 1992 [I. Cooperation meeting: May 31–June 1, 1992]. Ankara: ESAM Yayınları.
- Müslüman Topluluklar Birliği. (1994). II. İşbirliği toplantısı: 30–31 Mayıs 1994 [II. Cooperation meeting: May 30–31, 1994]. Ankara: ESAM Yayınları.
- Naofusa, H. (1983). Traditional cultures and modernization: Several problems in the case of Japan. In Cultural identity and modernization in Asian countries: Proceedings of Kokugakuin University symposium. Kokugakuin University. https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/cimac/index.html
- Niyozov, S., & Khan, A. W. (2024). Education faculty perspectives on a borrowed teacher education initiative in northern Pakistan: A call for engaging the discourses of policy borrowing and decolonization. Journal of Education in Muslim Societies, 5(2), 100–127. https://doi.org/10.2979/jems.00006
- Nur, B. M. (2022). Politics of epistemology in postcolonial Africa: The Islamisation of knowledge in the Sudan. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 23(4), 475–496. https://doi.org/10.1080/21567689.2022.2139688
- Onbasi-Polat, E. (2026). Rethinking modernization in Türkiye: The intellectual legacies of Attila İlhan (1925–2005) and Necmettin Erbakan (1926–2011). Ankara: Gece Kitaplığı.
- Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
- Rahman, F. (1982). Islam and modernity: Transformation of an intellectual tradition. Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
- R’boul, H., & Barnawi, O. Z. (2025). Islamic emancipation as alternative Maarifa in education: Decoloniality as a holy mission. British Journal of Religious Education, 47(3), 242–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2024.2393176
- Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
- Touraine, A. (1995). Critique of modernity. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Zul, Z., Najihul Huda, M., Fuad, Z., & Abdullah, M. (2026). Integration of Islamic ethics in modern education curriculum: Challenges and opportunities—A systematic literature review. British Journal of Religious Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2621177
References
Abdul-Jabbar, W. K. (2026). The ethics of disagreement (adab al-ikhtilaf): Religious education for intercultural competence in Arabo-Islamic pedagogy. British Journal of Religious Education, 48(3), 344–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2619036
Ahmed, F. (2021). Authority, autonomy and selfhood in Islamic education—Theorising Shakhsiyah Islamiyah as a dialogical Muslim-self. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(14), 1520–1534. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1863212
Ahmed, F., & Chowdhury, S. (2025). Rethinking contemporary schooling in Muslim contexts: An Islamic conceptual framework for reconstructing K–12 education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 57(2), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2024.2411325
Alatas, S. H. (1977). The myth of the lazy native: A study of the image of the Malays, Filipinos and Javanese from the 16th to the 20th century and its function in the ideology of colonial capitalism. London: Frank Cass.
Al-Attas, S. M. N. (1980). The concept of education in Islam: A framework for an Islamic philosophy of education. Kuala Lumpur: Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM).
Al-Attas, S. M. N. (1993). Islam and secularism. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization.
Alkouatli, C. (2022). Muslim educators’ pedagogies: Tools for self, social, and spiritual transformation. Harvard Educational Review, 92(1), 107–133. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-92.1.107
Alkouatli, C. (2024). Illuminating data beyond the tangible: Exploring a conceptually-relevant paradigmatic frame for empirical inquiry with Muslim educators. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 37(8), 2466–2484. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2024.2318301
Almoaibed, H., & Keating, A. (2025). Education and policy borrowing in the Arabian Gulf: Technical and vocational education and training in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Arabian Studies, 14(2), 330–348. https://doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2025.2495185
Ambya, R., Erihadiana, M., Priatna, T., & Nasir, T. M. (2025). Modernization and national identity: Quantitative insights into the role of Islamic education in Malaysia. Al-Ishlah: Jurnal Pendidikan, 17, 878–893. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v17i1.6611
Berman, M. (1988). All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. London: Penguin Books.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Cook, J. B. (1999). Islamic versus Western conceptions of education: Reflections on Egypt. International Journal of Educational Development, 45(3/4), 339–357. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003808525407
Dalay, G., & Friedman, D. (2013). The AK Party and the evolution of Turkish political Islam’s foreign policy. Insight Turkey, 15(2), 123–139. https://www.insightturkey.com/articles/the-ak-party-and-the-evolution-of-turkish-political-islams-foreign-policy
Eisenstadt, S. N. (1966). Modernization: Protest and change. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Eisenstadt, S. N. (2000). Multiple modernities. Daedalus, 129(1), 1–29. Retrived from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279625478_Multiple_Modernities
Eisenstadt, S. N. (2002). Multiple modernities. In N. Göle (Ed.), Snapshots of Islamic modernities (pp. 91–118). Oxfordshire: Routledge.
Erbakan, N. (1973). Mecliste ortak pazar [Common Market in parliament]. Ankara: Tek Yol Neşriyat.
Erbakan, N. (1975). Milli görüş [National outlook]. Istanbul: Dergah Yayınları.
Erbakan, N. (1976). Millet Meclisi Konuşması: Materyalizm ve Maneviyatçılık [Speech to the National Assembly: Materialism and spiritualism]. Ankara: Başbakanlık Yardımcılığı Basın Müşavirliği.
Erbakan, N. (1991). Türkiye’nin meseleleri ve çözümleri [Turkey’s issues and solutions]. Ankara: Semih Ofset Matbaacılık.
Erbakan, N. (2014). Erbakan külliyatı: Cilt 1 [Erbakan collection: Volume 1] (T. Çetinkaya, Ed.). Ankara: MGV Yayınları.
Erbakan, N. (2020). Davamız [Our cause] (Y. Aktaş, Ed.). Istanbul: Aktaş Yayınları.
Faruqi, I. R. (1982). Islamization of knowledge. Virginia: International Institute of Islamic Thought.
Heath, J. (2004). Liberalization, modernization, westernization. Philosophy & Social Criticism, 30(5–6), 665–690. https://doi.org/10.1177/0191453704045760
Huntington, S. P. (1968). Political order in changing societies. Connecticut: Yale University Press.
Huntington, S. P. (1996). The clash of civilizations and the remaking of world order. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Husain, S. S., & Ashraf, S. A. (1981). Islamic versus Western conceptions of education: Reflections on Egypt. Islamic Quarterly, 25(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003808525407
Jung, D. (2024). A theory of “Islamic modernities”: Religion and modernisation in Muslim history. Intellectual Discourse, 32(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.31436/id.v32i1.2118
Latouche, S. (1996). The westernization of the world (R. Morris, Trans.). Cambridge: Polity Press.
Lerner, D. (1958). The passing of traditional society. New York: Free Press.
Lerner, D. (1968). Modernization. In The international encyclopaedia of the social sciences. London: Macmillan.
Mardin, Ş. (1991). Türk modernleşmesi [Turkish modernization]. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları.
Müslüman Topluluklar Birliği. (1992). I. İşbirliği toplantısı: 31 Mayıs–1 Haziran 1992 [I. Cooperation meeting: May 31–June 1, 1992]. Ankara: ESAM Yayınları.
Müslüman Topluluklar Birliği. (1994). II. İşbirliği toplantısı: 30–31 Mayıs 1994 [II. Cooperation meeting: May 30–31, 1994]. Ankara: ESAM Yayınları.
Naofusa, H. (1983). Traditional cultures and modernization: Several problems in the case of Japan. In Cultural identity and modernization in Asian countries: Proceedings of Kokugakuin University symposium. Kokugakuin University. https://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/cimac/index.html
Niyozov, S., & Khan, A. W. (2024). Education faculty perspectives on a borrowed teacher education initiative in northern Pakistan: A call for engaging the discourses of policy borrowing and decolonization. Journal of Education in Muslim Societies, 5(2), 100–127. https://doi.org/10.2979/jems.00006
Nur, B. M. (2022). Politics of epistemology in postcolonial Africa: The Islamisation of knowledge in the Sudan. Politics, Religion & Ideology, 23(4), 475–496. https://doi.org/10.1080/21567689.2022.2139688
Onbasi-Polat, E. (2026). Rethinking modernization in Türkiye: The intellectual legacies of Attila İlhan (1925–2005) and Necmettin Erbakan (1926–2011). Ankara: Gece Kitaplığı.
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.
Rahman, F. (1982). Islam and modernity: Transformation of an intellectual tradition. Illinois: University of Chicago Press.
R’boul, H., & Barnawi, O. Z. (2025). Islamic emancipation as alternative Maarifa in education: Decoloniality as a holy mission. British Journal of Religious Education, 47(3), 242–252. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2024.2393176
Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
Touraine, A. (1995). Critique of modernity. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell.
Zul, Z., Najihul Huda, M., Fuad, Z., & Abdullah, M. (2026). Integration of Islamic ethics in modern education curriculum: Challenges and opportunities—A systematic literature review. British Journal of Religious Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2026.2621177