A General Look at the Islamic and Islamic Philosophy Studies in the USA
Authors: KAPLAN Yunus 
Published: June 2019

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.