About the Journal

The Journal was started by Professor Cobus Naude at the Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg) in 1980. It was housed at the University’s Centre for Islamic Studies. The journal aimed at a broader understanding of Islam and Muslims which was hitherto understudied in a South African context. In 1997, the journal was transferred to the University of Cape Town and housed at the Centre for Contemporary Islam (CCI)under the leadership of Professors Ebrahim Moosa and Abdul Kader Tayob. At CCI, the journal began to specifically focus on Islam in Africa. From 2013 to 2021 the journal was primarily edited by Dr Andrea Brigaglia, a specialist in Islam in West Africa. In 2021, the journal’s editorship was moved from the University of Cape Town to the University of South Africa’s Auwais Rafudeen. The journal is now also housed with the University of South Africa's press, namely,  Unisa Press.