ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the evaluation of 'Islamic Studies' as a social science discipline within the broader area of African Studies and as a sub-discipline of Religious Studies in Africa. Jacob Olupona conducted a lively series of seminars on 'Islam in Africa' during 2008 and offered an exciting course on "Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa" during 2010 at Harvard University. The purpose is to demonstrate to what extent changes have taken place in the discipline and to what degree Islamic Studies scholarship has assisted in bringing about a better understanding of Africa's Muslim communities in Southern Africa. One of the first important academic ventures in this regard was the 'Approaches to the Study of Islam' conference that was jointly organized by Abdulkader Tayob and Ebrahim Moosa, who were members of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town (UCT), in 1991. The conference attracted more than a hundred participants and among the presenters were Nisbert Taringa and Liazzat Bonate.
