International University of Africa

The International University of Africa is a public University in Khartoum, Sudan. It is a member of theFederation 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 to train preachers and educate young African Muslims and "imbue them with the Salafistview 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 fromMecca's port city of Jeddah).