This study aims to develop a paradigm for the deconstruction of Islamic education in Indonesia through a comparative study of Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of liberation and Ibn Khaldun’s concept of malakah. This study is motivated by the continued dominance of an Islamic education paradigm oriented toward knowledge transfer, rote memorization, and hierarchical learning relationships, which has not yet fully succeeded in fostering critical awareness and the ability of students to actualize Islamic values in social life. This study is a history of ideas research employing a qualitative approach based on a literature review. The analysis was conducted using historical methods, including heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography, applied to the primary works of Paulo Freire and Ibn Khaldun as well as various relevant scholarly literature. The results indicate that Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of liberation emphasizes the importance of education that is dialogical, humanistic, and oriented toward the development of critical consciousness, whereas Ibn Khaldun’s concept of malakah asserts that the purpose of education does not end with the mastery of information but lies in the development of abilities through a gradual, reflective, and continuous learning process. A comparative study of these two schools of thought yields an Islamic educational paradigm that is more dialogical, contextual, and practical as an alternative to learning models still dominated by textual and rote-memorization approaches. This research implies the need to deconstruct the Islamic educational paradigm in Indonesia so that it not only produces students who master religious knowledge but are also capable of critical thinking, possess malakah, and actualize Islamic values in addressing the challenges of contemporary society.
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