This article reports on new universities for Muslims, many supported by groups in the Middle East, which are spreading through the sub-Saharan region. The Islamic University in Uganda is a prime example of a new kind of institution that has slowly been spreading its way across the continent. Embracing both conservative Muslim values and modern secular learning, the Islamic University reflects changes taking place within sub-Saharan Muslim Africa, as well as in African higher education. There are an estimated 250 million Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa and at least a dozen new Islamic universities have sprung up over the past decade, in Nigeria, Tanzania, Somalia, Mozambique, and elsewhere. Some outsiders worry that these new universities will fuel religious divisions by fostering a sense of separateness between Muslims and others. A few even see them as potential breeding grounds for violent extremism. But African Muslims take pride in these institutions, and view them as a means to upward mobility and a stronger voice in society. A few scholars even argue that they serve as moderate bulwarks against radicalism.