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Makale Özeti:
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In the words of Fafunwa, Islamic literacy in Yoruba land had been an important
factor that had contributed to the growth and development of Islam in Nigeria
(Fafunwa, 1974, p. 42). According to Fafunwa, Islamic education had established
firm roots long before the arrival of western education popularized by the Christian
missionaries in the 1840’s (Ajayi, 1965, p. 5). Among seven Yoruba speaking
communities in Nigeria. Five have a considerable influence of Islam on Yoruba
culture historically. This is evident in the point that a significant percentage of the
population found in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Lagos, Kwara are predominantly Muslims
unlike in Ondo and Ekiti state (Gbadamosi, 1978, p. 77). Indeed, Islam as a
religion has played a major role in shaping Yoruba culture and education in West
Africa (Trimingham, 1969, p. 62). However, as Akinola (Akinola, 1995, p. 1)
observes, “the real essence and impact of Islamic activities in Africa have not been
contextualized by historians and is long overdue”. This paper is thus motivated by
this gap. A new approach has therefore been used in this paper to explain how
Islam has affected Yoruba culture.
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