Abstract:
Islamic education is the product of Islam, the religion revealed to Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him. Islam and Islamic education are twins; wherever Islam takes root, Islamic education will inadvertently flourish there. This is because Islam as a religion and a way of life can only be put into practice with adequate knowledge brought by the religion. That is why seeking for knowledge which would make someone to observe Islam in the way it was taught by the Prophet becomes necessary. This fact made Islamic education to take root in present day Nigeria as early as in the century of its advent. Since from that period, Islamic education continues to grow from strength to strength to the extent that today government, groups and individuals are involved in the promotion of the system at formal and informal levels. This paper is an attempt to examine the concept of Islamic education, how it came to Nigeria, its place in the scheme of colonialism, its present status in Nigeria and challenges facing it as well as what needs to be done in order to address those challenges.
