Female Muslim Scholars in Africa

Abstract

The chapter deals with female Muslim scholars in Africa in a historical perspective. After discussing some research paradigms that led to the fact that our knowledge about female Muslim scholars in Africa is still very scattered, it gives a historical overview of the development of female Islamic scholarship in Africa. It also illustrates, among other things, how the twentieth century saw tremendous changes in Muslim scholarship through educational reforms that created Muslim scholars who were no longer exclusively trained at Islamic institutions but received state education often up to university level. It elaborates further on the fact that governmental involvements in the religious sphere in the twenty-first century creates opportunities for a more visible engagement of women in Islamic education, spiritual guidance and religious institutional leadership.