Journal of European Baptist Studies, 2017

26.2 (2015), 117-44. 105 Nofal, pp. 529-32. This ‘restoration’ sought to demonstrate that scientific inquiry was not contradictory to religion, based on al-Ghazali's writings. 72 Journal of European Baptist Studies 17:1 (2017) While it is important to acknowledge the diversity of influences shaping Islamic education, this does not negate al-Ghazali's presence and significant role in shaping Islamic education. The key point to remember regarding al-Ghazali's influence has two components. Firstly, we must recognise that Islamic philosophy, including educational thinking, should not be summarised as simply a repetition and elaboration of al-Ghazali alone. Secondly, it would be a mistake to not acknowledge the profound and ongoing influence that the interpretation of his work has had on Islamic education. In this section, I have traced the significance of al-Ghazali's concept of the relationship between faith and reason in his philosophy of education. For al-Ghazali, acquisition of knowledge has doxological, soteriological, and eschatological value. Outcomes such as remembering, submission, and obedience take priority over individual inquiry and reflection. His dichotomy between beneficial and non-beneficial knowledge prioritises gaining knowledge of sacred texts above all. While acknowledging that al-Ghazali is not the sole source shaping Islamic education, his influence is and continues to be significant with dominant orientations of Islamic education in the Middle East. With this insight in mind, I want to turn to consider some implications of al-Ghazali's influence for Arab Christian theological education. Implications for Theological Education in Arab-Muslim Contexts My interest in studying al-Ghazali develops from my own participation in educating Arab evangelical faith leaders for effective ministry in Arab- Muslim contexts, where the dominant patterns of teaching, learning, and doing theology are inevitably shaped by cultural concepts of education, knowledge, and the relationship between faith and reason. The vast majority of literature guiding the development of theological education develops in contexts where Islamic concepts of education are not dominant. Yet the task of forming leaders for ministry in Arab-Muslim contexts certainly differs from contexts where Islam is not the dominant ‘other’. Having traced al- Ghazali's concept of faith and reason in his philosophy of education, in this final section I will explore some initial implications for Arab Christian theological education. In one comparative study of Muslim and Christian religious education in the Levant, Shaw argues that understanding Islamic religious education ‘helps clarify and illuminate the practice of Christian education in the local Hutcherson, The Relationship between Faith and Reason 73 evangelical community’. 106 While his study did not seek out causal links between Muslim education and Arab evangelical