The Fula and Islamic Education in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Abstract

This study examines the role of the Fula in Islamic education in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, from the colonial to the postcolonial period. The Fula educational initiative forges a partnership between the Muslim private sector and local educators. Not only does it provide a model for responding to the challenge of developing Islamic education in Sierra Leone, but it is a model that can be implemented throughout Africa. It is especially important given the increasing multiethnic student population and limited government support for Islamic education in Sierra Leone and across the continent. The recent decline in support from foreign Islamic countries for education in Africa adds urgency to the need for African Muslims, such as the Fula, to pursue alternative approaches to promoting Islamic education through broad-based cooperation among local educators, indigenous Muslim businesspersons, and the govemment. For over two centuries the Fula, a devout Muslim group in Africa,' were pioneers in the spread of Islam not just in Freetown but throughout Sierra Leone. In fact, the Fula ...