Reimagining Islamic Education Financing

To address institutional sustainability challenges in Ghana's Islamic education sector, this study investigates the challenges confronting the Ghana Islamic Education Unit (GIEU) and assesses the potential of cash waqf to address them. Grounded in an integration of community-based development and resource dependency theories, it offers a prescriptive framework for institutional resilience. This qualitative case study employed semi-structured interviews with eight key stakeholders drawn from three regional offices of the GIEU. The findings from the thematic analysis of the interview data reveal a system of interrelated constraints comprising chronic underfunding, inadequate infrastructure and logistics, a shortage of Muslim and Arabic language teachers, and pervasive community apathy. Weak community participation and structural dependence on unreliable government and community support were found to be mutually reinforcing. Participants viewed cash waqf as a viable means of addressing these challenges. Building on this, the study proposes the first theoretically grounded Cash Waqf Fund Model for the sector. The model’s novelty lies in integrating the two to design a professionally governed, community-anchored endowment that preserves its corpus. The study provides an actionable blueprint for establishing and governing waqf-based educational funds and a roadmap for policymakers and administrators to build transparent funding ecosystems and professionalise waqf administration, particularly in Muslim-minority contexts.