International University of Africa

The International University of Africa (Arabic: جامعة افريقيا العالمية‎) is a private 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.[2]

International University of Africa

جامعة أفريقيا العالمية Jāmiʿat afreqia al-alaamia
official logo of The International University of Africa
Type	Private University
Established	1977
Vice-Chancellor	Professor Hunud Abia Kadouf
Location	Khartoum , Sudan 15.5326°N 32.5680°E
Campus	Urban
Colours	[1]
Affiliations	FUIW AAU
Website	http://www.iua.edu.sd

The main gate

The university has its origins in the Islamic African Centre, established in Khartoum in 1977 with financial help from Saudi Arabia[3] 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."[4] 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.[5] The university has been active in Islamic higher education in sub-Saharan Africa since it was created.[6]

Due to its geographic location and cultural history, Sudan has been hosting a steady flow of people from neighboring countries, who were either in pursuit of religious knowledge or were on their way to perform the hajj pilgrimage. (Port Sudan lies directly across the Red Sea from Mecca's port city of Jeddah.) Some pilgrims stayed behind, either with a sheikh (religious leader) or fleeing from religious persecution, which set in as a result of European colonization. Others were forced by incessant wars to seek refuge and education in Sudan. As of 2010 the university had almost 6000 students. Its 93-acre campus is located in the South-Eastern part of Khartoum State.[7]

History

African Islamic Center

The forerunner of the university, known as the African Islamic Center[8] (also Islamic African Center[9] or Islamic African Institute[10]), was founded in 1977[3] or 1978[10] to train young Africans (particularly South Sudanese) in Salafist or fundamentalist interpretations of Islam. According to the university's website, it was set up by "a number of scholars ... with popular effort",[10] while outside sources credit funding to Saudi Arabia and other Arab States of the Persian Gulf, and management by the Islamist National Islamic Front of Sudan.

According to the Oxford Islamic Studies Online, the Sudanese Islamist group National Islamic Front founded the AIC "to undertake missionary work among the non-Muslim majority in southern Sudan".[8] Other sources indicate the training was not exclusively for Sudanese. Political scientist Gilles Kepel has described it as having been created "to train preachers and young elites from French and English-speaking African countries" and to "imbue them with the Salafist view of Islam." Kepel describes the center as "richly endowed by the Gulf States" and "headed" by a National Islamic Front party member "from 1979 on".[4] Rachel Bronson states that starting in 1977, Saudi Arabia "poured significant resources"[3] into the center.

According to the university's website, the Institute/Centre began by "accepting African students at the intermediate and secondary levels" from 1977-1979 onwards, before "this project was stopped". Later on, the Institute/Centre was revived "on wider basis and with greater facilities" by the "Government of the Sudan". It "invited a number of Arab countries" to contribute and six responded—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Their representatives "formed the Centre’s board of trustees" (the institute's highest authority) and "drew a statute which was approved by the Government of the Sudan and ratified by the founding states".[10]

The Government of the Sudan granted the centre a "big plot of land and the president of the Republic gave it diplomatic immunities and privileges" which helped it to develop and progress quickly. The National Salvation Government ratified the previous statute.[10]

Between 1977 and 1986 the Institute/Centre was established and "its administration and systems were settled". 800 students could be accommodated and "hundreds" of students graduated. Teaching was expanded from intermediate and secondary levels to include two university colleges. "Social and cultural activities" included "youth cultural mission and graduates associations". In one African country "more than 500 applicants competed for ten scholarship awards" to AIC.[10]

But in 1405 AH (1984-5) the Centre’s activity was curtailed after some member states "failed to pay their [promised] contributions", and the budget had to be cut at the same time that the two colleges were being established.[10]

International University of Africa

In 1411 AH (1990–91), and due to the great demand of African students for higher education, the Government of the Sudan issued the following decree (according to the university website):[10]

1. Elevating the Islamic African Centre to University statute with the name: International University of Africa.
2. Inviting interested countries and charitable institutions to become members of the Board of Trustees.
3. Ratifying the official seat agreement between the Government of the Sudan and the University and allowing it to retain the immunities and privileges granted to the Islamic African Centre.
4. The University was established with almost the full support of the Government of the Sudan, new faculties, institutes and centers were set up and study programmes became diversified including studies at applied science faculties. Programmes of post-graduate studies were introduced. The number of students multiplied greatly; and the University’s internal and external relations were extended resulting a unique international African university.[11]

So in 1992 the institute was "upgraded" to a university and its name was changed to Africa University,[12] or International University of Africa.

In 1995, during the war against the non-Muslim Southern Sudanese, Spin magazine reported that there was military training on campus.[13] Human Rights Watch notes that among other activities it provided "religious and cultural orientation programs" for prisoners of war in Sudan.[12]

Structure

The University runs the College of Education on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, with a 2006 enrolment of 466 students.[14] In 2011, according to the Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Madrid, the university ranked 10,924 in the world. In Sudan, it ranked fifth behind the University of Khartoum, Sudan University of Science & Technology, National Ribat University and Karary University.[15]

Officially, the chancellor of the university is the President of the country. In effect, the head of the university is the Vice-Chancellor. In November 2020, Prof. Dr. Hunud Abia Kadouf, an internationally renowned law expert, was appointed as Vice-Chancellor.[16]

The university is legally independent from the Sudanese state, but the government is the largest financial supporter. Classes are mostly held in Arabic, but most of the students come from non-Arabic-speaking African nations and from other countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.[17]

In 1993 and in cooperation with other organizations, the university established an institute for Disaster Management and Refugees Studies. This institute was inaugurated in 1994 at a ceremony attended by Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity. It undertakes training and development of approaches to disaster management in the Horn of Africa.[18] In April 2011, the Vice-Chancellor of the university at the time, Professor Hassan Mekki, met the Islamic Relief Agency Secretary General, Adnan Bin Khalil Al-Basha in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The two signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in charity and relief work.[19]

Faculties and affiliated centers

• Faculty of Economics and Political Science
• Faculty of Arts
• Arabic Language Institute
• Faculty of Family Studies
• Faculty of Education
• Faculty of Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences
  • Department of Chemistry
  • Department of Physics
  • Department of Geology
  • Department of Mathematics
  • Department of Microbiology
• Faculty of Nursing Sciences
• Faculty of Medicine
• Faculty of Pharmacy
• Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science
• Faculty of Dentistry
• Faculty of Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Communications Engineering
  • Systems Engineering and Control
  • Electrical Power Engineering
• Faculty of Administrative Sciences
• Faculty of Islamic Studies
• Faculty of Shariah
  • Department of Shariah and Law
• Faculty of Media
• Faculty of Quran.
• Faculty of Family Studies.
• Faculty of Islamic Studies.
• Faculty of Computer Studies
  • Computer Science
  • Information Systems
  • Information Technology
• Research Center
• African Islamic Center
• Faculty for Disaster and Refugee Studies

The Academic System

The University follows the academic semester system and credit hours. The academic degree is awarded for successful completion of the prescribed courses during the academic semesters.

These courses include:

1. University Requirements courses: "These are the compulsory courses for all university students. They include Islamic Studies, languages, and social subjects".
2. Faculty requirements: compulsory courses for all the students of the particular faculty.
3. Specialization Requirements: courses prescribed by the faculty for all the students of the same specialization.

Language used in instruction

English is the medium of instruction in the faculties of economics, arts, law, education and shariah, and centres of the university on the bachelor degree level. It is also the medium of instruction and dissertation writing for the post-graduate studies. English is the language of instruction in the faculties of engineering, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing and faculties of laboratory sciences.[20]

University Facilities

The University has

• Huge Press
• University Clinic
• A large number of apartments for students
• Playgrounds for football, basketball, volleyball and other games
• Africa Conference Hall
• 3 mosques and now in the process of establishing a large mosque, at a cost of about $2 million (Turkish design)

Students

As of 2010, about half of students have come from Sudan, and most of the others from the Horn of Africa. Almost all have come from Africa, but other countries are represented, too:[21]

Country	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	Total
Azerbaijan	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	2
Jordan	1	2	2	3	1	10	9	28
Brazil	-	3	-	-	-	3	2	8
Gabon	1	-	1	-	-	-	1	3
Algeria	-	-	1	1	-	2	2	6
Saudi Arabia	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	2
Senegal	16	28	11	6	19	45	45	170
Sudan	409	648	697	1137	929	3116	3229	10165
Sweden	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	2
Chechnya	-	-	-	1	-	-	1	2
Somalia	138	159	184	298	213	649	637	2278
China	4	4	5	10	7	1	2	33
Iraq	1	1	1	6	8	17	15	49
Philippines	39	41	36	34	26	46	52	274
Cameroon	19	19	7	8	13	27	30	123
Congo	7	7	17	2	3	11	19	66
Hungary	-	1	-	1	1	-	-	3
Morocco	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Norway	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Austria	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	1
Niger	27	17	21	9	27	60	66	227
India	-	3	1	4	-	2	2	12
Japan	2	-	2	3	1	-	-	8
Yemen	1	1	1	3	5	8	9	28
Uzbekistan	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Australia	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
Afghanistan	2	1	1	4	-	6	7	21
Albania	-	-	1	1	-	1	1	4
Germany	2	3	-	1	-	-	-	6
America	2	1	2	6	-	1	1	13
Angola	1	-	-	2	2	3	3	11
Ukraine	-	-	-	1	-	1	1	3
Ethiopia	135	108	85	81	77	201	202	889
Eritrea	67	66	63	47	45	116	120	524
Central Africa	-	-	9	2	3	6	6	26
Indonesia	36	26	28	42	43	89	91	355
Iran	-	-	1	5	2	3	2	13
Italy	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Pakistan	-	3	1	1	3	8	8	24
Botswana	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Britain	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Bangladesh	1	-	2	-	-	1	1	5
Benin	-	-	5	2	1	4	4	16
Burkina Faso	14	8	9	5	4	18	17	75
Burundi	5	8	8	4	11	11	10	57
Thailand	53	86	42	28	35	60	62	366
Turkey	6	58	20	49	55	30	30	248
Chad	82	49	59	59	57	146	148	600
Tanzania	23	16	26	23	42	59	61	250
Togo	8	11	4	3	4	4	5	39
Tunisia	1	-	-	-	1	1	1	4
Comoros	44	51	84	47	45	126	124	521
Jamaica	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
South Africa	4	1	1	-	-	-	-	6
Djibouti	55	35	19	56	22	101	99	387
Rwanda	11	1	9	1	8	13	12	55
Russia	2	2	-	2	-	1	1	8
Zambia	4	1	7	1	4	6	6	29
Ivory Coast	6	10	7	11	6	22	23	85
Syria	-	14	4	2	4	16	19	59
Switzerland	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	2
Sierra Leone	-	3	2	2	1	4	6	18
Seralanka	-	2	2	-	-	2	2	8
Seychelles	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	1
Tajikistan	4	-	8	2	15	12	13	54
Gambia	13	-	1	6	-	27	25	72
Ghana	7	15	13	11	3	31	31	111
Guinea	5	10	11	7	4	23	22	82
Guinea Conakry	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	3
France	-	2	-	4	-	2	2	10
Palestine	4	-	8	5	9	20	20	66
Kyrgyzstan	-	-	-	-	2	1	2	5
Kirgia	-	-	-	-	2	2	-	4
Croatia	1	-	1	-	-	-	-	2
Cambodia	3	-	-	2	2	3	2	12
Canada	-	1	-	1	-	-	-	2
South Korea	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	2
Kenya	58	43	88	84	121	208	200	802
Liberia	-	1	2	-	3	4	3	13
Libya	1	-	-	-	-	1	1	3
Lesotho	-	-	-	-	1	-	1	2
Mali	28	22	28	10	11	44	45	188
Malaysia	11	5	9	9	5	9	9	57
Madagascar	9	1	1	-	-	-	-	11
Egypt	1	3	3	2	1	5	6	21
Mlacasi	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Malawi	-	3	1	9	2	13	13	41
Moldova	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
Mauritania	1	-	1	1	2	11	11	27
Mozambique	8	5	6	6	12	13	15	65
Nigeria	65	92	94	112	105	199	193	860
Uganda	27	35	47	27	24	64	61	283
Total	1478	1746	1810	2320	2053	5754	5870	21031

Admissions 2018-2019

First: Barchelor

FACULTY	Admission rate , Sudanese and Foreigners
Medicine	Sudanese 65000 SDG Foreigners 6500 USD Admission rate Sudanese 90% Admission rate Foreigners 85%
Oral & Dental	Sudanese 50000 SDG Foreigners 6000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 90% Admission rate Foreigners 85%
Pharmacy	Sudanese 50000 SDG Foreigners 6000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 90% Admission rate Foreigners 80%
Laboratories Science	Sudanese 20000 SDG Foreigners 3000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 85% Admission rate Foreigners 80%
Nursing	Sudanese 20000 SDG Foreigners 3000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 80% Admission rate Foreigners 75%
sciences	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 65%
Electrical engineering	Sudanese 30000 SDG Foreigners 40000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 80% Admission rate Foreigners 75%
Mechanical Engineering )Male Students only(	Sudanese 30000 SDG Foreigners 40000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 80% Admission rate Foreigners 75%
Metals )Male Students only(	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 80% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Agriculture )Male Students only(	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 60%
Computer Study	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Family Science	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 60%
Shariah and Law	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 75%
Islamic studies	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Economy	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
administration science	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Education	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Arts	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 65%
Communication	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 65%
	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Arabic Languages	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
Disasters	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 70%
The Holy Quran	Sudanese 10000 SDG Foreigners 1000 USD Admission rate Sudanese 75% Admission rate Foreigners 65%

Second: Diploma

Faculty
Media and Information	Sudanese 1800 SDG Foreigners 300 USD
Islamic Sciences	Sudanese 1500 SDG Foreigners 250 USD
Information Technology	Sudanese 1500 SDG Foreigners 250 USD
Management and Finance	Sudanese 1800 SDG Foreigners 300 USD

Foreign Relations of the University

The university is a member of:

• World Association of Universities IAU
• Association of Arab Universities AARU
• Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World FUIW
• Union of African Universities AAU
• World Health Organization WHO
• ECFMG Medical School Web Portal and Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research IMED.[22]
• Accredited through Sudan Medical Council by World Federation for Medical Education WFME.[23]
• Union of Sudanese universities

There are also bilateral agreements for scientific and cultural cooperation with the following Islamic and international universities academic institutions:

• King Faisal University N’djamena, Chad.
• International Federation for Arabic and Islamic Schools.
• International Islamic University Malaysia.
• Al-Albeit University Jordan.
• Islamic University Niger.
• Mbalie University Uganda.
• University of South Africa UNISA.
• Faculty of Shari ‘a Sarajevo.
• Kaneme College Nigeria.
• University College of Education Zanzibar (academically affiliated with the International University of Africa which awards the bachelor's degree to its graduates).
• Thika College for Shari‘a and Islamic Studies –Kenny (academically affiliated with the International University of Africa which awards the bachelor's degree to its graduates).
• Al-Hikmah University Ilorin- Nigeria.
• Kesaunee College (Nigeria).
• East Africa University Bosaso- Somalia.
• Prince of Songkla University- Thailand.
• International Islamic University- Islam Abad- Pakistan.
• Banader University Somalia.
• University of Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
• Burundi Islamic University Komebo Burundi.
• The International Organization for Memorizing they Holy Quran Islamic World Association.
• Uyun El-Hayat Charity Project.
• Immigrant Student Care Organization.
• World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY).
• The Cooperation Office for Da’awa and Guidance Ivory Coast.
• Sheikh Ali Katarjoghli (Turkish businessman) for building the Uthmanic Mosque.
• Abd Allah Hashim ‘Urwa Company Kingdom of Saudi Arabia –academic scholarships.
• Katsina Province Nigeria academic scholarships.
• Bar‘u University Somalia.
• The Association for Muslim Preachers Seralion academic scholarships
• The Shafi ‘iyean Islamic University Jakarta- Indonesia.
• University of Zanzibar.
• Arabic Reformatory College Sri Lanka.
• Khanan Chinese University for Alternative Traditional Medicine Sciences

[24]

See also

• List of universities in Sudan
• List of universities in Africa
• Education in Sudan

References

1. from "The brand colour – International University of Africa blue".
2. "International University of Africa". Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World. Archived from the original on 2005-01-25. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
3. Bronson, Rachel (2008-06-05). Thicker than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia. Oxford University Press. p. 135. ISBN 9780199741175. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
4. Kepel, Gilles (2002). Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (2006 ed.). I.B.Tauris. p. 181. ISBN 9781845112578. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
5. Eva Evers Rosander, David Westerlund (1997). African Islam and Islam in Africa: encounters between Sufis and Islamists. Ohio University Press. p. 43. ISBN 0-8214-1213-2.
6. MEGAN LINDOW (July 6, 2007). "Once Radical, a Sudanese Institution Has Changed Its Approach". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
7. "About Us". iua.edu.sd/english. Archived from the original on 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
8. "National Islamic Front (Sudan)". Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
9. "International University of Africa Faculty of Medicine & Health Science". who.int. WHO. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
10. "History of International University of Africa (IUA)". iua.edu.sd/. 25 August 2014. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
12. Rone, Jemera; Human Rights Watch/Africa (1996). Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan. Human Rights Watch. p. 291. ISBN 9781564321640. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
13. "The March of the Green Flag". SPIN. May 1995. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
14. Damtew Teferra, Jane Knight (2008). Higher education in Africa: the international dimension. African Books Collective. p. 425. ISBN 978-9988-589-40-0.
15. "Rank of Universities of Sudan". Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Madrid. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
16. "Prof. Hunud Abia Named Vice Chancellor Of International University Of Africa| Sudanow Magazine". sudanow-magazine.net. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
17. "DR.ABDUL-RAHIM'S VISIT TO JAPAN". The University of Tokyo. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
18. "Introduction". Disaster Management and Refugees Studies Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
19. "International University of Africa - IRA Sign Memo of Understanding". Sudan News Agency. 6 April 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
20. "History of International University of Africa (IUA)". International University of Africa (IUA). Retrieved 30 April 2015.
21. hassan. "جامعة افريقيا العالمية". iua.edu.sd (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2011-10-22. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
22. "FAIMER | World Directory of Medical Schools". imed.faimer.org. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
23. "SUDAN MEDICAL COUNCIL AWARDED WFME RECOGNITION STATUS". World Federation for Medical Education. 2018-06-05. Retrieved 2018-11-28.

External links

• The International University of Africa official website
• Sudan Ministry of Higher Education official website
• Association of Arab Universities official website
• Scholarships of International University of Africa