There is a fundamental, and important, difference between the Western way of thinking and education - and thus  the 'understanding' and perspective this gives individuals - and the Islamic way.

The Western way, the Western perspective,  depends upon the notions, the ideas, of 'progress' and individual 'enlightenment' through an academic study based upon  separate subjects, such as Physics, biology, history, music and so on. The 'understanding ' that this Western perspective provides depends upon this academic study of subjects and the accumulation of information. When enough information about a subject is accumulated (and memorized) there is said to be a 'mastery' of that subject,  often formally acknowledged through some academic qualification produced by some Western institution.

The Islamic perspective is totally different. It rests upon the foundation that all true knowledge is numinous - that is, sacred: a path to dhikr, to awareness and remembrance of Allah.  The Islamic quest for  knowledge is a quest for an understanding of the Signs of Allah  - an understanding of Allah as the Creator of all being and all beings. Knowledge is a way to understanding the Unity of Existence, and to acquire knowledge one needs the tools of learning - reason, logic, the ability to judge and, equally important, a piety, an acknowledgment of how we, as individuals, were created by Allah, should be grateful to Him and strive to remember Him.

Furthermore, Islam totally opposes the Western idea of progress  in this world and the renunciation of the past, of tradition, that this almost always involves. For  Islam, the perfect, ideal society existed at Madina during the time of the Prophet Muhammad  just as the ideal human being existed in the figure of the Prophet himself.

 All our  Islamic striving in this world is a desire to emulate these ideals, this perfection, which once actually existed.

 In the West, the ideal society is always said to exist 'in the future' - and it always involves some person, or some group,  race or nation, or whatever, believing they are special, that they have some kind of 'Destiny' and have been somehow chosen to make this ideal future real.  Very often, this idea of Destiny involves Imperialism - that is, the exploitation of others through colonialism because the imperialists believe they have a 'right' to do this, either because it is their Destiny, or because they are chosen or 'better' than the people they conquer.

This Western idea of progress, of an ideal (but impractical) society with a Destiny to make it real, is perhaps one of greatest misfortunes the West has produced, for since its genesis in the culture of ancient Greece (witness Plato, and Alexander) it has caused immense suffering and destruction.

The traditional Islamic way of education strove to provide Muslims with the tools of learning - so that, once having these tools, an individual was capable of making reasoned judgements and of understanding the Signs of Allah.  The Western way of education is to present and accumulate facts (and in case of the so-called social sciences, abstract ideas and theories) and completely ignore not only the underlying Unity behind the diverse academic subjects, but also piety in the individual. Thus the Western way becomes a way away from Unity, away from God, away from an awareness and remembering of what is sacred, just as there is no attempt to teach individuals to reason, to judge, to cultivate that excellence of character which arises from upholding morality and being aware of God.
 

Abdul Aziz