When it comes to classifying Arab universities based on their dates of establishment, views may differ. Some say that the Cairo University is the oldest, as it was founded in 1908. Others refer to the American University of Beirut (AUB) which was established since the 19th century in 1866, followed by the Saint Joseph University (USJ), and University La Sagesse in 1872 and 1975 consecutively. Yet, the major argument over these universities is that they are not the oldest, especially that some of them are foreign institutions built on Arab lands.
However, opposing opinions agree on the foundation of Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which was established in 970 AD during the Fatimid Era in Egypt before many other renowned universities around the world. Al- Azhar’s students studied the Qur’an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the phases of the moon. It was one of the first universities in the world, and the only one in the Arabic world to survive as a modern university including secular subjects in the curriculum. Today it is the chief center of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world, as it receives 65,000 foreign students yearly. It is also one of the biggest universities and the total of its students reaches 319,000 taught by 20,000 teachers.
In 1961 additional non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum. The education at Al-Azhar University has had some difficult aspects, as students are obliged to study their major’s materials in addition to religious materials imposed by the university’s curriculum, which causes additional burdens for Al-Azhar students.
AL-Azhar Institution is responsible of supervising a chain of schools comprising around two million students. Also, more than 4000 academic institutions in Egypt work in cooperation with Al-Azhar, which provides Fatwa consultancy and trains all preachers dispatched by the Egyptian Government worldwide.
Al-Azhar’s library is considered the second most important library following the Egyptian Book and Documentation authority Services. A project of digital documentation to preserve and publish Al-Azhar’s historic archive on the internet was accomplished in cooperation with Dubai Center of Information and Technology. Al-Azhar University ranks at 35, and 701 among the world’s universities.
The only university that competes with Al-Azhar is the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, which is one of the oldest academic institutions in the world, according to the UNESCO’s classifications. For well over twelve hundred years Al-Qarawiyyin has been one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim World. It was founded in 859 C.E., it was a mosque with a small attached school. With time, the mosque was transformed into a spiritual destination and a historic educational center in the Islamic world.
This university adopts modern concepts and teaches different majors like languages and digital techniques, in addition to Quran and Islamic studies. The University of al-Qarawiyyin attracts students from all across the Maghreb region and Western Africa, and many Muslim students from Spain and other countries.
