Theological-philosophical and methodological basis for the integration of science and islam at Muhammadiyah universities in Indonesia

Muhammadiyah universities continue to transform themselves through the development of monochotomous sciences. They have established a ‘scientific mindset’ oriented toward building an integral-holistic education system. One such effort is the integration of science and Islam. This study focuses on the theological-philosophical and methodological basis for the integration of science and Islam as reconstructed by Muhammadiyah universities in Indonesia. The study employed a qualitative phenomenological approach across multiple sites, with informants determined through purposive sampling. Data collection utilized participant observation and in-depth interviews, while data analysis adhered to Creswell’s design of data analysis construction stages. The study found that Muhammadiyah universities develop science based on the integration of science and Islam, grounded in their religious ideology. This integration is constructed through an epistemological critique of the methodological paradigm of Western science, aligning science with the Islamic worldview and reorienting the axiology of science based on ethical-prophetic principles. The epistemology of the integration of science and Islam is developed through a methodological dialectical pattern encompassing scientific-empirical knowledge, revelation-based knowledge, and rational-discursive knowledge. This research provides a theoretical contribution by conceptualizing the Muhammadiyah approach as a model of epistemological institutionalization, in theological values are institutionalized in an academic system integrated through university ideology.