Islamic philosophies of education in Africa

Abstract

All pedagogy, or the practice of education, relies upon, whether implicitly or explicitly, an epistemology: a philosophy of what knowledge is, how it is acquired, and what its function is. This chapter will explore some of the philosophies that have structured Islamic education on the African continent, how they have been put into practice in different pedagogical programs and environments, as well as their historical developments, adaptations, and interactions with other philosophies and educational traditions, both “Indigenous” or African and “Western” or European. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the current state and future of Islamic education on the continent and the increasingly influential diaspora.