Semantic reconstruction of Qur'anic values for multicultural education

This study aims to reconstruct the meaning of multicultural education in the Qur’an through Toshihiko Izutsu’s semantic epistemology and to examine its implications for global ethical principles. Using a descriptive-analytical library research design, the study demonstrates that Izutsu’s semantic framework, comprising the identification of key concepts, basic meanings, relational meanings, historical meanings, and the Qur’anic Weltanschauung, is highly relevant for uncovering the Qur’an’s vision of multiculturalism. The analysis shows that key terms such as syuʿūban, qabāʾila, alsinatikum, and alwānikum are interconnected within a complex semantic network. This interconnection reveals a universal semantic transformation in which these terms shift from narrow pre-Qur’anic connotations to an inclusive worldview that regards ethnic, linguistic, and racial diversity as signs of divine greatness and as foundations forstrengthening human relationships (li-taʿārafū), rather than as sources of division. The reconstruction of the Qur’an’s internal semantic network ultimately forms a worldview grounded in equality, dignity, and human brotherhood, where moral worth is determined by piety rather than physical or social identity. The findings further highlight that principles such as tolerance, justice, equality, and humanity emerge as inseparable components of the Qur’anic Weltanschauung, offering a strong philosophical basisfor multicultural education rooted in sacred text and oriented toward collective well-being.