UI Muslim community appoints Prof. Ibrahim Uthman as new chief imam, News Live Nigeria reports.
The conference room of the University of Ibadan Central Mosque was filled with a quiet, expectant air. This was not a routine meeting; it was the moment of succession.
On Sunday, October 19, 2025, the Board of Governors of the Muslim Community gathered to ratify the next spiritual leader of one of Nigeria’s foremost academic institutions. With the distinguished Professor Mufutau Abdulrahman set to retire on Wednesday after decades of service, a new era was about to begin.
The announcement came from the community’s President, Professor Emeritus Musiliu Onilude, who presented the findings of the Shuurah Committee. Their choice was clear, having been measured against twelve stringent qualities, including integrity, deep spirituality, humility, and profound knowledge. The man chosen to guide the community was Professor Ibrahim Olatunde Uthman.
A scholar of significant repute, Professor Uthman has been a constant presence within the community, serving under the outgoing Imam as an Assistant. Until recently, he led the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, a position that speaks to his academic authority. His credentials are global, holding a PhD in Usul al-Din and Comparative Religion from the International Islamic University, Malaysia. Yet, his interests are acutely modern and relevant, spanning Islamic studies, modernism, and feminism, areas he has explored in depth through numerous publications.
His scholarly articles, on topics as diverse as The Sharīʿah and Muslim Feminists’ Public Display of the Female Body and Feminism in Postmodern Society, demonstrate an intellect engaged with the complex realities of the contemporary world.
The leadership journey of the new Chief Imam began not in an office, but on campus as a student. He was first a Student Imam and later the President of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), refining his skills in communication and spiritual guidance long before he earned his professorship.
Now, having taught at institutions across the continent, including Crescent University Abeokuta and the International Islamic University Malaysia, Professor Uthman returns to lead the community that first nurtured his faith and scholarship, ushering in his tenure as Chief Imam.