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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Muslim Universities in East Africa
| Panel |
14. New Modes of Sociality in Muslim Africa
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| Paper ID | 620 |
| Author(s) |
Ahmed, Chanfi
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Ever since the 1980s, East African Muslims have been calling for the creation of new universities linking modern non-religious education to the transmission of Islamic values. Through these universities Muslims hoped to adjust their level of education to that of their more advanced Christian fellow citizens. Thus, in 1988 the Islamic University in Uganda opened its doors to Muslim students while 2004 saw the official inauguration of the Muslim University of Tanzania. The opening of a similar institution is awaited among the Muslims of Kenya.
My paper will go beyond the 1980s in retracing the historical origins of the claims for Muslim universities in the region. I will first analyze the programme set forth by these universities which offer an alternative model for being Muslim and modern at the same time. I will then tackle the political implications of Muslim universities, i.e., the problem of multiple – and sometimes conflicting – affiliations to Islam on the one hand and the respective nation state on the other.
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