Challenges to the Study of Islamic Education in African Universities

Abstract

This article examines the challenges to the study of Islamic education in African colleges and universities. I claim that such a study, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, is not a priority even though Muslims accounted for 44 percent of the continent’s population in 2009 and 22 of its nations have a Muslim population of 50 percent or more. I present four main factors responsible for this phenomenon: European colonization; the relatively small number of Arabic speakers in most African nations; the negative implications of connecting Islamic fundamentalism/al-Qaeda to Arabs and Islam; and the humiliation, abuse, and severe punishment experienced by Black Africans in Arab-majority societies.