The Epistemology of Islamic Knowledge Production in Nigerian Universities: A Critical Analysis of Islamisation of Knowledge Discourse

This dissertation critically analyses the epistemological foundations and practical outcomes of the Islamisation of Knowledge (IoK) discourse within Nigerian university Islamic Studies departments. The IoK project, pioneered globally by Ismail al-Faruqi and the International Institute of Islamic Thought, has sought to reconstitute the philosophical premises of academic disciplines through an Islamic epistemic framework. Its reception, adaptation, and implementation challenges in Nigerian higher education have not been comprehensively examined. The study employs a critical qualitative research design, combining epistemological deconstruction of major IoK texts with institutional ethnography at four Nigerian universities operating dedicated Islamic Studies programmes in Ibadan, Sokoto, Maiduguri, and Zaria. In-depth interviews are conducted with 40 Islamic Studies academics, 15 university administrators, and 10 IoK-trained scholars. Data are analysed using critical discourse analysis, epistemic justice frameworks, and institutional analysis. Original contributions include a typology of IoK implementation models in Nigerian universities, a critical assessment of the tension between Salafi orthodoxy and IoK's integrative philosophy in the Nigerian context, and a proposed Nigerian Islamic Academic Reformation Model. Findings reveal that IoK as practiced in Nigerian universities frequently reduces to surface-level Islamisation of syllabi without fundamental epistemological transformation. The dissertation recommends a second-generation IoK research agenda specific to the Nigerian intellectual environment. Keywords: Islamisation of knowledge, epistemology, Islamic Studies, Nigerian universities, Islamic intellectual reform.