Three Schools of Scholarship Regarding Study of Islam

Some additional thoughts about people who study Islam. Those who study and report on Islam tend to fall into three separate groups. These are:

(a) First group -- the Islamic School, with all its many subdivisions. Most of the writings and observations in this group are done by Muslims for other Muslims. In general, the Islamic School is written by Islamic believers.

(b) Second group -- the Academic School. Most of the writings and observations in this group are done by academics about non-traditional Islam. This school generally omits connecting dots of current events to explain the "why" of fundamentalist Islam; nor does it attempt to explain future Islamic actions. Generally, this school references itself for explanations and doesn't refer to traditional Islamic texts or the Islamic Trilogy (Koran, Sira, and Hadith). This school generally accepts Islam as one of the world's great religions and tends to be respectful and not find fault in Islam. This school tends to not reference the Trilogy and seldom includes the suffering of any of its victims. In general, this school's writings are done by non-Muslims for other non-Muslims, all tending to serve and defer to Islam.

(c) Third group -- the Foundational School. This school uses the source documents of Islam to explain the world-view of Islamic civilization; primarily the Trilogy (Koran, Sira, and Hadith). The history of Islam is interpreted as an expression of the political Islam. Mostly, this school studies current and historical effects of traditional Islam upon society, including the history of slaves and dhimmis (a special class of "slave" that is heavily-taxed by his/her Islamic "owner"). Generally, this school attempts to "connect the dots" to see patterns of current Islamic events, explain Islamic history, and predict possible outcomes for the future. Most often, this school studies the same texts used by the Islamic School. Writings of this school typically include quotes from the Koran and Mohammad, and includes descriptions of suffering of radical Islamic expansionism. The writings of this school tend to be written by unbelievers (khafirs).

[Source: Mohammad, Allah, and Politics, The Islamic Political Doctrine; published by the Center For The Study Of Political Islam.]