Social Sciences and Epistemic Colonialism: Liberal Epistemology, Knowledge Power, and the Case for Decolonization
Keywords:
Epistemic Colonialism; Liberal Epistemology; Decolonial Theory; Islamic Epistemology; Knowledge and Power; Objectivity; Maqāṣid al-SharīʿahAbstract
Political decolonization did not end coloniality; it relocated much of its operation from direct political rule to the production, validation, and institutionalization of knowledge. This article argues that dominant liberal formations of the social sciences continue to reproduce epistemic hierarchies through the categories, theories, methodologies, and evaluative standards by which societies are understood, compared, ranked, and governed. Drawing on decolonial theory, critical philosophy of science, and Islamic epistemology, the article examines how dominant formations of sociology, anthropology, political science, and economics universalize historically situated commitments to individualism, methodological secularism, positivism, and the fact–value separation. It demonstrates how these assumptions shape disciplinary boundaries, research methodologies, conceptions of human agency, and development discourse, often positioning non-Western societies as objects of analysis rather than sources of theory. The article argues that genuine decolonization requires epistemic reconstruction, not merely inclusion or diversification. Descriptive and comparative analysis is used to find out the main features and compare with Islamic epistemology. As a substantive model, it outlines an Islamic epistemological approach grounded in revelation, reason, empirical inquiry, and maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, illustrating its implications through poverty measurement.
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