ECOWAS Urges Modernization of Qur’anic Schools to Curb Youth Radicalization in West Africa

ECOWAS President Omar Touray has urged reforms in traditional Qur’anic schools to prevent radicalization and child exploitation.

He said modernizing these schools would protect children and promote regional peace.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, has called for the modernization of traditional Qur’anic schools across West Africa to help prevent radicalization, child abuse, and street begging among vulnerable children.

Touray made the appeal on Thursday in Abuja during the West African Islamic Conference on Security and Governance. He said reforming these informal learning centers would make them safer and more productive environments for young people.

“The situation of traditional Qur’anic schools is the focus of our preventive action against radicalization and violent extremism. We need to improve and formalize these schools into centers of learning and empowerment,” he stated.

Touray noted that millions of children and teachers in these schools remain exposed to exploitation and recruitment by extremist groups due to neglect. He added that terrorism and violent extremism had severely affected the socio-economic well-being of the West African and Sahel regions, which are now at the forefront of the global fight against terrorism.

Citing the 2025 Global Terrorism Index, he said Africa had become a new hub for terrorist activities and stressed the need to focus on the continent’s youth population by directing their energy toward positive development.

The ECOWAS chief explained that the initiative aligns with the regional body’s Action Plan Against Terrorism, which combines both non-kinetic and kinetic approaches. He praised religious leaders for taking the lead in modernizing Qur’anic education and pledged ECOWAS’ continued support for such reforms.

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, described the conference as the beginning of a new phase of cooperation in the region. He urged stakeholders to stay united in building a peaceful and prosperous West Africa.

Similarly, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the African Union’s High Representative for “Silencing the Guns,” revealed that over 40 million children in West and Central Africa are currently out of school. He said the conference aimed to develop an action plan that empowers Islamic organizations to counter terrorism through peaceful and community-driven strategies.