Towards a Decolonial Islamic Studies Curriculum for Nigerian Universities: Theoretical Foundations and Practical Models

This dissertation develops the theoretical foundations and practical curriculum models for a decolonial Islamic Studies pedagogy in Nigerian universities. Islamic Studies curricula at Nigerian universities remain substantially shaped by colonial-era classifications, Orientalist knowledge hierarchies, and imported Middle Eastern academic frameworks that marginalise the indigenous Nigerian Islamic intellectual tradition (represented by scholars such as Usman dan Fodio, Nana Asma'u, and Sheikh Ahmad Gumi). The study employs a decolonial theoretical methodology, drawing on Ndlovu-Gatsheni's epistemic decolonisation framework, the Islamisation of Knowledge tradition, and indigenous African philosophy of education, in conjunction with curriculum audit of ten Nigerian university Islamic Studies programmes and interviews with 35 Islamic Studies academics and 20 postgraduate students across northern and southern Nigeria. Original contributions include a Decolonial Islamic Studies Curriculum Matrix that centres indigenous Nigerian Islamic intellectual heritage alongside classical and contemporary global Islamic scholarship, and a Pedagogical Model for Critical Islamic Literacy. Findings from stakeholder validation reveal strong academic appetite for decolonised Islamic Studies but significant institutional resistance arising from colonial-era accreditation frameworks and senior faculty conservatism. The dissertation recommends a phased curriculum reform process led by a multi-institutional Decolonial Islamic Studies Working Group in partnership with the National Universities Commission. Keywords: decolonial curriculum, Islamic Studies, Nigerian universities, indigenous intellectual heritage, postcolonial education.