Tolerance and Acceptance of Others in the Islamic Creed in Light of the Global Trend of Internationalizing Education

Undoubtedly, the modern era has witnessed significant development in the interaction between nations in various aspects, most notably the cognitive and scientific dimensions. This interaction has been facilitated by several factors, including globalization. Globalization has imposed on education the direction of promoting understanding, solidarity, and a shared sense of responsibility. In this context, universities have adopted the philosophy of internationalization and shifted from a narrow local framework to a broader global framework. This necessitates a fundamental change in the philosophy and mission of universities to align with the competition among universities in the field of internationalization. Thus, there is a close relationship between globalization and the internationalization of higher education. Recently, there has been a growing trend towards internationalizing higher education, which extends beyond educational, learning, training, and scientific research processes to encompass movements involving students and faculty members. Several studies indicate an imbalance in the process of internationalizing higher education between advanced and developing countries, leading to internationalization itself taking on negative forms of globalization that adversely affect the social, economic, and cultural aspects of developing societies. Despite the efforts made regarding the internationalization of Egyptian higher education, the status-quo indicates the existence of several factors hindering internationalization, including the lack of a clear philosophy underlying the higher education system to address the challenges posed by globalization, the limited capacity of government higher education institutions to compete with foreign universities, and the confinement of these institutions to the local sphere with a limited focus on global engagement. As the call of Islam is a global call to all people, it becomes essential to disseminate the Islamic creed and reinforce this dissemination with the concepts of tolerance and acceptance of others. Therefore, this research aims to address a gap in the literature by exploring the conceptualization of tolerance in the creed in the first section, followed by the problematization of the concept of acceptance of others from a creedal perspective in light of the global trend of internationalizing education and scientific openness between peoples and societies. Finally, the conclusion presents necessary insights, seeking assistance, guidance, and righteousness from the Almighty.