During its prosperous phase, Islam spread to North Africa, where a total Islamization and Arabization took place, and the coastal areas of East Africa, where a new synthesis of the Perso-Arabic and Bantu languages and cultures emerged. East Africa has considerably higher rate of enrolment in primary and secondary education, and therefore Qur’ānic schools have tended to be relegated to complementary nonformal education or preschool institutions. In the former case, a deterioration has sometimes taken place so that the teaching and learning processes consist of rituals including a large proportion of pre-Islamic elements. Also, a prolongation of schooling has occurred in some places, a fact implying that children first attend Qur’ānic education for a couple of years and then primary (and secondary) education or vice versa. Most of the Qur’ānic teachers do not have any other income than the produce supplied by the pupils in their fields and the gifts they receive from the parents of the pupils. Qur’ānic schools are sustained by and continue to operate and expand due to the help of the community and parents.

A few, more sophisticated or developed institutions of Islamic education may be found in East Africa; the dirāsahs in Tanzania and some Qur’ānic schools in Uganda may be mentioned as examples. Islamic education in a district of Kenya will serve as an example illustrating the nature of such education in East Africa.