# Islamic University in Uganda

The Islamic University in Uganda (IUIU) is a multi-campus university offering courses at certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The main campus of the university is in Mbale, about 222 kilometres (138 mi) north-east of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.

## History

The idea to start IUIU was conceived at the second summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in 1974. The university was inaugurated in February 1988 with 80 students. The main objective of the university is to serve the higher education needs of the English-speaking Muslim community in Southern and Eastern Africa. The university also enrolls non-Muslim students, who are free to practice their different religions.

## University campuses

As of December 2014, IUIU had four campuses:
* The Main Campus is approximately 2 kilometres (1 mi) north of Mbale's central business district in the Eastern Region of Uganda, on the Mbale-Soroti road. The coordinates of the main campus are 1°06'02.0"N, 34°10'25.0"E (Latitude:1.100556; Longitude:34.173611).
* The Kampala Campus is on Kibuli Hill, approximately 3.5 kilometres (2 mi) south-east of the central business district of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda.
* The Females' Campus is in Kabojja, 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of Kampala's central business district. This campus is for female students only.
* The Arua Campus is in the town of Arua, approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-west of Kampala.

## Academics

The university has the following faculties, as of January 2021:
* Faculty of Law
* Faculty of Health Sciences
* Faculty of Science
* Faculty of Education
* Faculty of Management Studies
* Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
* Faculty of Islamic Studies & Arabic Language
* Faculty of Health Sciences
* Faculty of Technology & Engineering (Expected)
* Center for Postgraduate Studies.

## Students

Islamic University in Uganda, affectionately called IUIU boasts, has students from across the African continent. The first West African student to be admitted to the university was Mr. Abdul Ishaq Hussein from Ghana between 1989 and 1990. He was later followed by Mr. Ahmed Gedel, also from Ghana and four other Nigerians including Imam Rufai, Ismail, Dr. Uba Inuwa and Dr. Taufik.
There were many other West African students from Mali, the Gambia, famous of whom is Alieu K. Jammeh, who served as Minister of Sports under Yahya Jammeh. He is currently Gambia's High Commissioner to Guinea.
There were students from Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, South Africa, Djibouti and Eritrea as of July 1998.

## University halls

Currently, the university has four very competitive halls of residence.
Umar-Khadija, the oldest, is also arguably the most successful hall of residence in sports activities. Two West African students were privileged to serve in high positions of the hall. They are Abdul Razak Abdul Hamid Musah, chairman and Anas Abubakar as the general secretary in 1998. Their rise to these positions was mainly because they were among three of the best table tennis players the university had ever produced. The third player was Dr. Asiso. Suraqa. He was probably the best table tennis player on campus. However, the first West African Chairman of a hall of residence of the university was Nurudeen Abdul Hamid of Ali- Hafswa Hall. The other halls are Uth-Fat Hall and Abu-Aisha Hall.

## Notable alumni

* Acaye Kerunen (B.S. 2009), artist
* Faridah Nakazibwe, journalist
* Magezi Masha, Computer Scientist