Factors attracting Muslim students to Christian institutions of higher learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to discover the factors that attract Muslim students to Christian institutions of higher learning. The overall aim was to discover the theory that emerged in helping to understand what motivates Muslim students to attend Christian institutions of higher learning. Data was collected through Observations, discussions in focus groups, and face to face semi-structured interviews with fourteen participants, five Muslim students from catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), and nine Muslim students from African Nazarene University (ANU). The findings revealed two categories of Muslim students: Those who were closed to any contact with Christians when they came to school, "Muslim brothers" and those who mixed with other Christian students from the beginning, "Christian friends". The study showed that Muslim students were "attracted" by some factors, but were also "pushed" sometimes, by other factors. It seems that "Muslim brothers" are "attracted" by the "school reputation" and sometimes "pushed" by the "parents/sponsors motivations". The "Christian friends" are mostly attracted by "the • school environment" and sometimes "pushed" by "student's motivations" mostly by other Muslim alumni of the same University. This study also revealed a phenomenon of one factor, "the attitude of the student", being influenced by four other factors when the student starts interacting with the school community members. A student can move from a group ("Muslim brothers", for example) to another ("Christian friends") or even becoming a Christian from a radical Muslim position through the power of Holy Spirit, when students are exposed to the Word of God in the compulsory chapel or the requested Bible and Christian ethics classes. From the findings, recommendations were made of exploring the possibility of extending the study to the Muslim alumni of Christian institutions of higher learning and investigating their relationships with Christians and people of other faiths. This would help to have a clear picture of the contribution of Christian education to Muslim understanding of the Christian faith. A multiplicity of studies of the phenomenon of Muslim students in Christian universities in different African contexts would lead to a greater understanding of the profound reasons motivating Muslims to attend Christian institutions of higher learning.