Opening Snapshot: A Campus Dilemma

A computer science student in Lahore proudly lands an internship at a global AI firm. On her first week, she tests a facial-recognition model. It works smoothly—until it repeatedly misidentifies women wearing hijab. She raises a concern. The response is polite but dismissive: “The data isn’t there. The model is neutral.”

That moment stays with her. Neutral to whom? Built on whose values?

Across universities—from Islamabad to Istanbul—Muslim students are asking similar questions in 2025. AI is no longer just code; it shapes who gets a loan, who is flagged as “risky,” and whose identity is rendered invisible. While global AI ethics debates are dominated by Western secular philosophies, a new generation of Muslim ethicists is quietly but confidently entering the conversation—arguing that technology must serve human dignity (Karāmah), not just efficiency.

This is not about rejecting innovation. It’s about reclaiming moral agency in a world increasingly governed by algorithms.

Why This Issue Exists

Most AI systems today are trained on data, values, and assumptions rooted in Western liberal individualism. This isn’t always malicious—but it is incomplete. When nearly 89% of AI training data is in English, entire moral traditions are sidelined.

For Muslim societies, this creates three layers of exclusion:

1. Cultural Blind Spots: AI systems struggle with religious practices, modest dress, or communal decision-making.
2. Economic Mismatch: Conventional credit models ignore Islamic finance structures like risk-sharing and asset-backed lending.
3. Security Bias: Datasets shaped by post-9/11 security doctrines can encode suspicion toward Muslim identities.

The result? Technology that claims universality but quietly marginalizes billions.

What Students Often Get Wrong

Many students assume AI ethics is either:

• a technical problem (fix the data), or
• a legal issue (add regulations).

But Muslim ethicists argue something deeper: AI faces an ontological-ethical crisis—it lacks a moral vision of what it means to be human.

Ethics is not just a checklist. It’s about who we are becoming through the tools we build.

An Islamic Lens: From Rules to Responsibility

This is where emerging Muslim thinkers are offering fresh insight.

Dr. Amana Raquib and Tazkiya-Based AI

Dr. Raquib proposes that ethical AI must begin with Tazkiya (self-purification). Instead of treating ethics as an external constraint, she frames it as an internal process—where developers, institutions, and societies cultivate moral consciousness. Technology, in this view, should promote technomoral flourishing, not just productivity.

Dr. Mona Hamdy and Stewardship

Teaching applied ethics at Harvard and founding Anomaly, Dr. Hamdy challenges the obsession with speed and scale. She reframes technology as Amanah (stewardship)—a trust that must protect the vulnerable. For her, the Arab and Muslim worlds should not merely adopt global AI norms but help lead them.

Taha Abdurrahman’s Iʿtimāni Framework

Though an established philosopher, Taha Abdurrahman’s Trusteeship (Iʿtimāni) ethics is gaining renewed relevance in 2025. Applied to AI, it insists that machines must never replace human moral intentionality (Niyyah). AI can assist judgment—but cannot inherit responsibility.

Together, these frameworks shift ethics from compliance to conscience.

Designing for Human Dignity (Karāmah)

To translate theory into practice, Muslim ethicists are advancing concrete initiatives:

• AI Fatwa Councils: Proposed bodies combining scholars, engineers, and social scientists to certify AI systems used in Islamic education and finance.
• The Riyadh Charter (2025): A landmark agreement between ICESCO and SDAIA to harmonize AI governance across Muslim-majority countries—centering human dignity and responsible design.
• Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah as Benchmarks: Using the preservation of life, intellect, and dignity as technical audit criteria for fairness, transparency, and accountability.

This is Islam not as nostalgia—but as a living moral language for modern complexity.

Ethical Tensions & Trade-offs

Of course, challenges remain. Can faith-based ethics be globally inclusive? Will companies take non-Western frameworks seriously? And how do we prevent “ethical branding” without real reform?

Muslim ethicists respond with humility: these frameworks are not replacements, but expansions. The goal is pluralism—not dominance.

Action Framework: A Student Roadmap

If you’re a student, here’s what ethical leadership looks like in 2025:

• Build Dual Literacy: Learn AI basics and ethical philosophy—Islamic and global.
• Question Data Neutrality: Ask whose voices are missing in datasets.
• Engage Locally: Start reading groups, ethics clubs, or interdisciplinary forums on campus.
• Career Alignment: Seek roles in AI governance, policy, UX ethics, or responsible innovation.
• Moral Courage: Speak up—respectfully—when technology harms dignity.

Leadership begins long before graduation.

Closing Reflection

AI will shape the moral architecture of our future. The question is not whether Muslims will use it—but whether they will define its values.

In 2025, a new generation of Muslim ethicists is reminding the world that progress without purpose is hollow. Islam’s ethical tradition—rooted in responsibility, dignity, and trust—offers not resistance to technology, but guidance for it.

For students, this is an invitation: don’t just code the future. Conscience it.