Paper long abstract:

For the past twenty years Islamic schools in Ghana have undergone profound changes.

Before, Islamic schools were called Makaranta, taught mainly religious subjects and were not recognised by the state. A pupil who left a Makaranta was not prepared to work in the modern sector. Only few Muslims went to Mission or government schools and entered the public service. In Ghana Muslims constitute a religious minority, of which many feel like second class citizen.

With the inauguration of the Islamic Education Unit in 1987, a number of Islamic schools integrated secular subjects like mathematics and English into the syllabus and became officially accepted by the state. Thus, Muslims could combine secular and Islamic education. That enabled them for example, to read and write in English, to sign contracts and to participate in national affairs.

In this paper I examine how Islamic schools - from colonial time until today - contribute to recognition of Muslims, both as Muslims and as citizens of Ghana. What do pupils, parents and teacher expect from Islamic schools? What are their experiences? What kind of knowledge is transmitted and how?

The paper is based on thirty biographical interviews of Muslim men and women of three generations from Accra and Tamale and draws on Axel Honneth's theory of recognition.