Contemporary Islamic Education Paradigm: A Rational Cultural Transformative Synthesis

Abstract

Contemporary Islamic education is confronted with rapid digitalization, cultural pluralism, and changing socio-educational expectations in Muslim societies. While previous studies have examined rational, cultural, and transformative dimensions of Islamic education, these perspectives have largely been addressed in isolation, producing a fragmented discourse and leaving the field without a coherent theoretical framework capable of responding to 21st-century demands. This study aims to develop an integrative conceptual paradigm that synthesizes these three dimensions. To achieve this, a qualitative conceptual research design was employed using a structured library-based approach. Academic books, journal articles, and scholarly documents published between 2019 and 2025 were selected based on thematic relevance and academic significance. The sources were analyzed using thematic content analysis to identify conceptual patterns, followed by theoretical synthesis to formulate an integrative framework. The results show, first, that Islamic education discourse has shifted from a textual-normative orientation to a more reflective and socially responsive model. Second, the review identifies three prominent dimensions ational, cultural, and transformative each offering distinct conceptual contributions. Third, a theoretical gap is confirmed, as no prior research offers a unified paradigm that systematically connects these dimensions. The study contributes to contemporary Islamic education literature by proposing a holistic paradigm that reconciles tradition and modernity while positioning Islamic education as both value transmission and social agency formation. This framework opens opportunities for future empirical testing and curricular development examination and curricular development.