International University of Africa

The International University of Africa is a public University in Khartoum, Sudan. It is a member of the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World. The university has faculties of Education and Humanities, Shariah and Islamic Studies, of Pure and Applied Sciences, Engineering and medicine. The university has its origins in the Islamic African Centre, established in Khartoum in 1977 with financial help from Saudi Arabia and other Arab States of the Persian Gulf[4] to train preachers and educate young African Muslims and "imbue them with the Salafist view of Islam." In 1992 the military government of Colonel Omar Al-Bashir upgraded the institute to a university. Although the word "Islamic" was dropped from the title, Islamic studies are an important part of the curriculum. The university has been active in Islamic higher education in sub-Saharan Africa since it was created. Due to its location and cultural history the Sudan has been hosting a steady flow of groups from neighboring countries who were either in pursuit of knowledge or were on their way to perform hajj pilgrimage (Port Sudan is directly across the Red Sea from Mecca's port city of Jeddah). Some stayed behind either with a shaykh (religious leader) of fleeing religious persecution which set in as a result of European colonization. Others were forced by incessant wars to seek refuge and education in the Sudan. As of 2010 the university had almost 6000 students. Its 93-acre campus is located in the South-Eastern part of Khartoum State.