Did you ever hear of the University of Al Quaraouiyine in Morocco?
The University of Al Quaraouiyine (Qarawiyyin), located in Fez (within the Medina of Fez), Morocco, is Guinness World Records as the oldest continuously operating degree-granting institution (University) in the world, founded in 859 AD by Fatima al-Fihri, a woman who used her inheritance to build a mosque and school for her community. Originally a mosque, it became a leading intellectual center for Islamic studies, law, and science, later integrating into Morocco’s state university system in 1963.
It was founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 857–859 and subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Islamic Golden Age. It was incorporated into Morocco’s modern state university system in 1963 and officially renamed “University of Al Quaraouiyine” two years later. The mosque building itself is also a significant complex of historical Moroccan and Islamic architecture that features elements from many different periods of Moroccan history.
Although the University of Al Quaraouiyine originally specialized in Islamic sciences (Maliki law, Quranic studies), Arabic grammar, and rhetoric. Historically, it also taught astronomy, mathematics, logic, and medicine. The University also houses a world-famous, ancient library containing over 30,000 manuscripts, including 9th-century Qurans.
In its prime, it was a focal point for exchanging knowledge between the Islamic world and Europe.
The University Today
Incorporated into the modern Moroccan university system in 1963, it still maintains a focus on traditional Islamic sciences and language. While focusing on theology and jurisprudence, it also offers courses in various Islamic sciences and related disciplines. It is open to both men and women, continuing its role in promoting higher education.
The site is still a key tourist attraction due to its stunning, ancient architecture featuring intricate tile work and calligraphy.
Scholars consider al-Qarawiyyin to have been effectively run as a madrasa until after World War II. Many scholars distinguish this status from the status of “university”, which they view as a distinctly European invention. They date al-Qarawiyyin’s transformation from a madrasa into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963
Education at the University of al-Qarawiyyin concentrates on the Islamic religious and legal sciences with a heavy emphasis on, and particular strengths in, Classical Arabic grammar/linguistics and Maliki Sharia, though lessons on non-Islamic subjects are also offered to students. Teaching is still delivered in the traditional methods. The university is attended by students from all over Morocco and Muslim West Africa, with some also coming from further abroad. Women were first admitted to the institution in the 1940s after the women’s movement pressured the French colonial government at the time.
The Arabic name of the university means “University of the People from Kairouan”. Factors such as the provenance of Fatima al-Fihriya’s family in Tunisia. The French colonization of Morocco have resulted in a number of different orthographies for the romanization of the university’s name, including al-Qarawiyyin, a standard anglicization; Al Quaraouiyine, following French orthography; and Al-Karaouine, another rendering using French orthography.
Foundation of the mosque
In the 9th century, Fez was the capital of the Idrisid dynasty, the first Islamic state based in present-day Morocco. According to one of the major early sources on this period, the Rawd al-Qirtas by Ibn Abi Zar, al-Qarawiyyin (The University) was founded earlier as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy merchant named Mohammed al-Fihri. The al-Fihri family had migrated from Kairouan (hence the name of the mosque), Tunisia to Fez in the early 9th century, joining a community of other migrants from Kairouan who had settled in a western district of the city. Fatima and her sister Mariam, both of whom were well educated, inherited a large amount of money from their father. Fatima vowed to spend her entire inheritance to build a mosque suitable for her community. Similarly, her sister Mariam is also reputed to have founded al-Andalusiyyin Mosque the same year.
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