New Trends in Religious Study (Religiouswissenchaft): As Developed and Proposed by Al-Faruqi

This paper will discuss the contributions of Prof. Ismail Raji al-Faruqi(1921-1986) in developing the discipline of Comparative Religion (Religiouswissenchaft) in Temple University, Philadelphia and its unprecedented impact and ramification in the Islamic world. The new framework and paradigm he introduced in religious and civilizational course had inspired International Islamic University of Malaysia to undertake this proposal and making it mandatory course in the Kulliyyah. The course was introduced to broaden the horizon and understanding of religious norms and traditions and designed as part of the discipline in comparative study. The discipline had brought tremendous impact in gearing and sustaining civilizational dialogue and inter-religious engagement in Malaysia and aroused the consciousness and appreciation of its universal and cultural root of a profound religious and spiritual tradition worldwide.