Value Pluralism and Islamic Moral Education: A Philosophical Reconstruction of Akhlak Education in Plural Societies

Authors

  • Agus Khumaedy Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia
  • Ahmad Ta’rifin Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia
  • Hani Hasnah Safitri Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia
  • Ulul Albab Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia
  • Mohammad Adam Sultan Ismail Petra International Islamic University College (KIAS), Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53396/media.v7i1.781

Keywords:

Value Pluralism; Islamic Moral Education; Philosophy of Education; Maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah; Moral Deliberation

Abstract

This article examines the reconstruction of Islamic moral education through the integration of value pluralism within the framework of Islamic educational philosophy. The study addresses the challenge of moral complexity and value conflicts in contemporary pluralistic Muslim societies. The research aims to formulate a conceptual model of moral education that remains normatively grounded in Islamic values while being responsive to value diversity. Using a qualitative library research design, the study applies philosophical–normative analysis to key works in moral philosophy and Islamic educational thought, particularly the concepts of tawīd and maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah. The findings indicate that value pluralism can serve as a reflective ethical framework that acknowledges the diversity and incommensurability of values without leading to moral relativism. When dialogically integrated with Islamic normative principles, it produces a conceptual model of Islamic moral education that is adaptive, dialogical, and normatively oriented, fostering students’ capacity for moral deliberation and ethical responsibility in pluralistic societies.

Author Biographies

Agus Khumaedy, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia

AGUS KHUMAEDY, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, lahir di Pemalang, 18 Agustus 1968. Ia menyelesaikan program magister Hukum Islam di Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta.

Ahmad Ta’rifin, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia

AHMAD TA’RIFIN, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, lahir di Tegal, 20 Oktober 1975. Ia menyelesaikan program doktoral Manajemen Pendidikan Islam di Universitas Islam Negeri Kiai Haji Achmad Shiddiq Jember.

Hani Hasnah Safitri, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia

HANI HASNAH SAFITRI, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, lahir di Pemalang, 26 November 2003. Saat ini ia mahasiswa pascasarjana di Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan.

Ulul Albab, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, Indonesia

ULUL ALBAB, Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan, lahir di Batang, 14 Juli 2002. Saat ini ia mahasiswa pascasarjana di Universitas Islam Negeri K.H. Abdurrahman Wahid Pekalongan.

Mohammad Adam, Sultan Ismail Petra International Islamic University College (KIAS), Malaysia

MOHAMMAD ADAM, Sultan Ismail Petra International Islamic University College (KIAS) Malaysia, lahir di Kelantan, 11 Februari 1993. Ia menyelesaikan pendidikan S-2  di Faculty of Islamic Studies and Arabic Language, Sultan Ismail Petra International Islamic University College (KIAS) Malaysia.

References

Abdullah Sahin, Education, Ethics and Religion: Islamic Perspectives on Character Formation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018).

Abhinav Rao et al., “Ethical Reasoning over Moral Alignment: A Framework for In-Context Ethical Policies in LLMs,” arXiv:2310.07251 (2023).

Amin, Muryanto, and Alwi Dahlan Ritonga. "Diversity, local wisdom, and unique characteristics of millennials as capital for innovative learning models: Evidence from North Sumatra, Indonesia." Societies 14.12 (2024): 260.

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by W. D. Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Originally published ca. 350 BCE.

Auda, Jasser. Maqasid al-Shariah as Philosophy of Islamic Law: A Systems Approach. London: The International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2008.

Banks, James A. Cultural Diversity and Education: Foundations, Curriculum, and Teaching. 6th ed. New York: Routledge, 2015.

Benkler, Noam, et al. "Assessing llms for moral value pluralism." arXiv preprint arXiv:2312.10075 (2023).

Berlin, Isaiah. Liberty: Incorporating Four Essays on Liberty. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Bernard Williams, “Conflicts of Values,” in Moral Luck (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981).

Biesta, Gert. The Beautiful Risk of Education. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2013.

Carrier, Martin. "Values and objectivity in science: Value-ladenness, pluralism and the epistemic attitude." Science & Education 22.10 (2013): 2547-2568.

Crowder, George. Isaiah Berlin: liberty and pluralism. Polity, 2004.

David-Doron Yaacov, “Normative Moral Pluralism for AI,” arXiv:2508.08333 (2025).

Dhobi, S. Philosophical approaches in qualitative research. Journal of Population and Development, 4(1), 145-154. 2023.

E. O. Popa, “Taking Value Conflicts Seriously: Technological Pluralism as a Governance Framework,” Technological Forecasting and Social Change (2025), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2025.122345

Floris, Giacomo. "A pluralist account of the basis of moral status. "Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition (2021): 1859-1877.

Francesco Allegri, “Conflicting Values and Moral Pluralism in Normative Ethics, ”Kultura i Wartości 34 (2022): 9–26, https://doi.org/10.17951/kw.2022.34.9-26

Gray, John. Isaiah Berlin: An Interpretation of His Thought. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013.

Halstead, J. Mark. “Islamic Values: A Distinctive Framework for Moral Education?” Journal of Moral Education 36, no. 3 (2007): 283–296.

Ibrahim, Molina, et al. "Addressing contemporary ethical and moral issues through islamic education." Journal on Islamic Studies 1.1 (2024): 36-51.

Isaiah Berlin, “Two Concepts of Liberty,” in Four Essays on Liberty (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1969).

Jasser Auda, Maqasid al-Shariah as Philosophy of Islamic Law: A Systems Approach, 2nd ed. (London: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2016).

Karn, Animesh, et al. "Identifying and Leveraging Untapped Opportunities in Jharkhand's Management Education Market." Available at SSRN 5265557 (2025).

Larson, Erica Michelle. Civic and Religious Education in Manado, Indonesia: Ethical Deliberation About Plural Coexistence. Diss. Boston University, 2019.

Nadeem A. Memon and Mujadad Zaman, “Moral Education and the Cultivation of Islamic Character,” Religions 9, no. 6 (2018): 180.

Padela, Aasim I. Maqasid Al-shariah and Biomedicine: Bridging Moral, Ethical, and Policy Discourses. International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), 2025.

Recep Şentürk, “Moral Autonomy and Responsibility in Islamic Ethics,” Journal of Islamic Ethics 4, no. 1–2 (2020): 7–26.

Recep Şentürk, “Moral Reasoning, Ethical Authority, and Islamic Education,” Journal of Islamic Ethics 4, no. 1–2 (2020): 27–45.

Sahin, Abdullah. "Critical issues in Islamic education studies: Rethinking Islamic and Western liberal secular values of education." Religions 9.11 (2018): 335.

Smektała, Marta, and Magdalena Baborska-Narożny. "Balcony use: value pluralism, house rules and social norms." Housing Studies (2025): 1-31.

Suri, Harsh. "Epistemological pluralism in research synthesis methods." International journal of qualitative studies in education 26.7 (2013): 889-911.

Wendel, W. Bradley. "Value pluralism in legal ethics." Wash. ULQ 78 (2000): 113.

William A. Galston, Liberal Pluralism: The Implications of Value Pluralism for Political Theory and Practice (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).

Downloads

Published

2026-03-16

How to Cite

Khumaedy, A., Ta’rifin, A., Safitri, H. H., Albab, U., & Adam, M. (2026). Value Pluralism and Islamic Moral Education: A Philosophical Reconstruction of Akhlak Education in Plural Societies. Media: Jurnal Filsafat Dan Teologi, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.53396/media.v7i1.781