Politics of epistemology in postcolonial Africa: The Islamisation of knowledge in the Sudan

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article discusses the Islamisation of knowledge policy that the Islamist regime in the Sudan undertook between 1989 and 2019. It investigates the inner workings of this policy, its epistemic orientations, methodologies, and practices to understand the relationship between religion, education, and politics. The article argues that the Islamisation of knowledge project is comprised of a set of ideas, epistemic theories, and empirical programmes that aim to ‘liberate’ Muslims from coloniality and rebuild their minds in accordance with an Islamic epistemology. It uncovers how Islamisation of knowledge protagonists portray their epistemology in their intellectual forums and academia. How are the ideas, theories, and educational programmes associated with this form of knowledge implemented through academic institutions? The article addresses analytical conceptions such as Islamic thought and scrutinizes the doctrine, epistemic orientation, and socio-cultural representations imposed on students by Islamisation of knowledge proponents through education policy and curricular programmes. What is Islamic in their educational philosophies and practices? What conceptions of Islamisation underpin this epistemic discourse and practices in academic institutions in the Sudan? At what points do Islam and education ontologically converge and diverge? How do they accommodate one another? The article delves into a detailed ethnography that answers these questions.