Abstract
Contemporary Islamic education faces fundamental challenges that threaten its relevance and competitiveness amid globalization, the Industrial Revolution 4.0, and the emergence of Society 5.0. This article aims to analyze the major problems of contemporary Islamic education, identify the internal and external challenges it encounters, and formulate strategic directions for educational reform. The study employs a library research approach by examining recent scholarly literature on contemporary Islamic education. The findings reveal that the primary challenges include philosophical and epistemological crises, the dichotomy between religious and secular sciences, inadequate human resource quality, curricula and teaching methodologies that remain predominantly memorization-oriented, weak institutional governance, and the limited relevance of Islamic education to the needs of contemporary society. External challenges arise from globalization, the rapid advancement of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, socio-cultural transformation, and the moral decline among younger generations. Meanwhile, internal challenges include limited teacher competence, unequal technological infrastructure, resistance to change, and weak institutional management. To address these issues, Islamic education requires a comprehensive reconstruction of its epistemological foundations through the integration of religious and scientific knowledge, curriculum reform based on contextual and interdisciplinary approaches, the enhancement of teachers' technological and pedagogical competencies, visionary educational leadership, the critical and humanistic utilization of technology, and the development of a hybrid educational model that harmonizes the classical Islamic intellectual tradition with modern innovation. These reforms are expected to foster an adaptive, inclusive, and character-oriented Islamic education system grounded in the principles of tawhid, enabling it to make meaningful contributions to the advancement of global civilization.