The Development of Muslim Scholars’ Attitudes Toward Western Psychology: From Fascination to the Islamization of Psychology – An Analytical and Critical Study

Abstract

This study aims to explore the development of Muslim scholars’ attitudes toward Western psychology, beginning with the phase of fascination in the early 20th century, where some thinkers were influenced by Western theories (such as Freudian psychoanalysis and behaviorism) and regarded them as absolute scientific truths. This phase continues to this day and has long dominated academic circles. It was followed by a phase of complete rejection of Western psychology as a whole and a call for an Islamic psychology based on the Qur'an, Sunnah, and also the writings of earlier scholars. This development then progressed to the phase of Islamic rooting (ta’sīl Islāmī), which seeks to establish a psychology derived from the Islamic worldview of the human being (soul, spirit, and purpose), while also benefiting from Western scientific tools after being critically filtered. The study discusses how Muslim psychologists have addressed the process of Islamic grounding of psychology, emphasizing that most of the Islamization efforts have been either superficial or serious attempts that still require deeper understanding. It also outlines the key principles and foundations that represent the true liberation phaseofpsychology.