Conference on Islam in Global Africa to feature Emir of Kano

EVANSTON - Muhammadu Sanusi II, current Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, will kick off an interdisciplinary conference on Islam in Global Africa Monday, April 23, on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. 

The Financial Times named Sanusi “Central Bank Governor of the Year” in 2010 for his role in combating corruption and salvaging Nigeria’s financial sector.

For hundreds of years, Sanusi’s predecessors ruled one of Africa’s great empires catapulting his tremendous influence in modern-day Nigeria. The Washington Post recently called him “the most important traditional leader in West Africa.”

The Islam in Global Africa conference is organized by the Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa at Northwestern University. The interdisciplinary gathering will explore the multiple dimensions of Islam in the African continent.

The two-day conference will bring together more than a dozen scholars from Africa, Europe and the U.S. to explore what it means to be African and Muslim — and how the meaning of Islam is negotiated at the intersection of local, regional and global encounters, as well as in narratives, perceptions and exchanges.

The original research showcased at the conference will investigate the interplay between the religious, political or social experiences of African Muslims and the transformations of Islamic Africa in a globalized world.

“We’re fortunate to invite Emir Sanusi. He perfectly embodies the tremendous transformations affecting religious Islamic authority and how its exercised in a globalized Africa,” said Zekeria Ahmed Salem, director of the Institute for the Study of Islam in Africa and associate professor of political science at Northwestern University’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. “His exceptional expertise in finance and Islamic thought as well as his role in modern-day Nigeria will provide an excellent opportunity for learning on our campus."

Emir Sanusi will also be meeting with faculty and students at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management to discuss Africa’s economic prospects. The meetings are organized by the Kellogg African Business Club as part of the school’s Mosaic Week.