Engaged yet disengaged: Islamic schools and the state in Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

Madrasas (Islamic schools and seminaries) have been the focus of reform in most Muslim majority countries during recent decades. Post-September 11, concern has heightened in some countries. Reasons for state intervention vary but the usual explanation points to the modernizing ambitions of the secular elite in post-colonial Muslim states who, led by a vision of modernization and nation-building, have aimed to reform religious schools to bring them in line with the demands of modernity. In particular, the reforms have typically sought to introduce secular subjects into the curriculum to enable graduates to compete for jobs in government and the wider economy, pay and train some or all teachers, improve buildings and teaching materials, and, through curriculum reform, create a religious leadership that will propagate a more liberal interpretation of Islam. The State government's engagement with Islamic Schools in Kano, one of the most populous Muslim states of northern Nigeria, has been essentially tolerant of traditional religious authorities. Drawing on interviews with key informants from the state government, Muslim leaders and informed observers, this study examines the aim and content of attempts to reform various types of Muslim primary and secondary education, by encouraging the adoption of curricula containing both secular and religious subjects and providing other types of support. Unlike elsewhere, in Kano, the State government has not intervened in the higher levels of Islamic education.