Islamic Education in Ghana: History and New Trends

Abstract

This paper traces the trajectory of Islamic education in Ghana from pre-colonial era to the present Islamic learning avenues in Ghana. The paper bridges the historical context that frames the development and evolution of Islamic literacy and the new trends of Islamic learning in Ghana. It is through such gradual presentation of the narrative that the changes, challenges, successes, and emerging trends would be appreciated. As such, this paper tracks Ghana’s Islamic education journey through the precolonial, colonial to early independence era, and the evolution and graduation transformations in Muslim learning in the decades following political independence. The paper also discusses the Islamic Education Unit (IEU) as a public educational establishment mandated to combine secular and Islamic learning under the Ghana Education Service (GES) for public good. And finally, the paper explores new emerging trends of Islamic education in Ghana.