The reluctance of the Muslim world to accept the Western system of education at its initial stage was the fear of loss of identity. The colonization of the Muslim world which consequently paved way for power subjugation, economic exploitation and political domination confirmed the Muslims’ initial lukewarm attitude to it. However, no sooner that the Muslims were lured into accepting the western system of education than they became absorbed in it and soon realized that they had been robbed of their worldview and culture; Indeed, the identities of Muslims in Nigeria started changing and fading during the foreign rule and after the independence. Excessive materialism and secularism were factors which contributed to such changes. That not withstanding, re-gaining an Islamic identity as khalifah of Allah has become a vital discourse among the Muslim intellectuals before and after the First World Conference on Muslim Education held in Makkah in 1977. This has equally been the feeling of some prominent Muslim scholars in Nigeria. Of such scholars is Sheikh Adam Abdullah alIlori whose educational philosophy is intended to be appraised in this paper. Therefore, this paper aims at presenting the educational philosophy of this seasoned scholar as a way of reclaiming the Islamic identity that has been diluted among the contemporary Nigerian Muslims. The paper will also proffer ways of recapturing the pristine Islamic identity through intellectual exercise, women education, teaching methodology and the way forward to withstand the new ideas posed by contemporary challenges.
Source: World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization
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