Rise and fall of knowledge power 17 Humanomics Vol. 24 No. 1, 2008 pp. 17-27 # Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0828-8666 DOI 10.1108/08288660810851441 Rise and fall of knowledge power: an in-depth investigation Hjh Salma Bee Hj Noor Mohamed Abdul Latiff Centre for Islamic Banking, Finance and Management, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei, and Abul Hassan Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Markfield, UK Abstract Purpose – Muslims as an ummah (community) held knowledge power for more than 500 years and dominated in the field of historiography, religious texts, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, sciences, literature, geography and travel and many other areas during AD 750-950 in world history. But the present Muslim world is far behind in knowledge power than the rest of the world despite the fact that it holds vast sources of economic resources. How Muslim knowledge powers became great and how they declined is a question that confronts today’s researchers. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors responsible for the rise and fall of Muslims’ knowledge power and the scope for its restoration. Design/methodology/approach – An in-depth analysis was made based on the information from secondary sources. Findings – In order to restore the flagging knowledge power, six factors have been identified and analyzed in the light of presenting the scope for initiative to power the knowledge economy in the Muslim world. Originality/value – The paper shows that the concept of knowledge power not only identifies circumstances in which the Muslim world can restore knowledge economy well but also in which it should come up with a realistic action plan in the area of higher education and human resources development. Keywords Knowledge management, Knowledge economy, Higher education, Human resource development, Islam Paper type Viewpoint 1. Introduction We learn from the history that the early Muslims were conscientious of their mission in life. Their personal and collective life were molded according to Islamic principles and gained such knowledge which enabled them to become exemplary witness of Islam before the world. First generation of Muslims, in particular, established a strong attachment with Al-Qur’an from which Muslims drew inspiration, motivation. People of different races and religious beliefs lived together in social peace and harmony. People were free to travel, live, trade and set up business anywhere in Islamic world. Societies during that time made great progress in science, technology, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, laws and jurisprudence and other field of knowledge. Islamic world became the center of knowledge power through making great inventions and discoveries. Present modern technological and social developments have actually evolved from the contributions made by a number of earlier Islamic intellectuals (AD 750-1150) during Muslim rule. Historian Watt (1972) writes: ‘‘We sometimes belittle the extent and importance of the Islamic influence in our heritage, and sometimes overlook it altogether. We must acknowledge our indebtedness to the full. To try to cover it over and deny it is a mark of false pride’’ ( pp. 1-2). Knowledge power is a much softer type of power, if anything; it forms one of the major foundation stones for a great power. How countries and nations become The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0828-8666.htm