University of al-Qarawiyyin

University of al-Qarawiyyin
جامعة القرويين
	Courtyard of the mosque and its minaret
Type	Madrasa and center of higher learning for non-vocational sciences (before 1963); State university since 1963
Established	857–859 (as a mosque),; 1963 (as a state university)
Academic staff	1,025 (2012)
Administrative staff	708 (2012)
Students	8,120 (2012)
Location	Fez, Morocco
Campus	Urban
Language	Arabic
Founder	Fatima al-Fihri
Colours	White
Website	uaq.ma

The University of al-Qarawiyyin (Arabic: جامعة القرويين, romanized: Jāmiʻat al-Qarawīyīn), also written Al-Karaouine or Al Quaraouiyine, is a university located in Fez, Morocco. 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.^[1] 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.^[5]

Scholars consider al-Qarawiyyin to have been effectively run as a madrasa until after World War II.^[6]^[3]^[7]^[8]^[9] Many scholars distinguish this status from the status of "university", which they view as a distinctly European invention.^[10]^[11] They date al-Qarawiyyin's transformation from a madrasa into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963.^[1]^[2]^[3] Some sources, such as UNESCO and the Guinness World Records, have cited al-Qarawiyyin as the oldest university or oldest continually operating higher learning institution in the world.^[12]^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15]

^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference Lulat 2005, 154–157 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Park, Thomas K.; Boum, Aomar: Historical Dictionary of Morocco, 2nd ed., Scarecrow Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8108-5341-6, p. 348
al-qarawiyin is the oldest university in Morocco. It was founded as a mosque in Fès in the middle of the ninth century. It has been a destination for students and scholars of Islamic sciences and Arabic studies throughout the history of Morocco. There were also other religious schools like the madras of ibn yusuf and other schools in the sus. This system of basic education called al-ta'lim al-aSil was funded by the sultans of Morocco and many famous traditional families. After independence, al-qarawiyin maintained its reputation, but it seemed important to transform it into a university that would prepare graduates for a modern country while maintaining an emphasis on Islamic studies. Hence, al-qarawiyin university was founded in February 1963 and, while the dean's residence was kept in Fès, the new university initially had four colleges located in major regions of the country known for their religious influences and madrasas. These colleges were kuliyat al-shari's in Fès, kuliyat uSul al-din in Tétouan, kuliyat al-lugha al-'arabiya in Marrakech (all founded in 1963), and kuliyat al-shari'a in Ait Melloul near Agadir, which was founded in 1979.
^ ^a ^b ^c Belhachmi, Zakia (2008). Women, Education, and Science within the Arab-Islamic Socio-Cultural History: Legacies for Social Change. Brill. p. 91. ISBN 978-90-8790-579-8. Significantly, the institutional adjustments of the madaris combined both the structure and the content of these institutions. In terms of structure, the adjustments were twofold: the reorganization of the available original madaris, and the creation of new institutions. This resulted in three different types of Islamic teaching institutions in al-Maghrib. The first type was derived from the fusion of old madaris with new universities. For example, Morocco transformed Al-Qarawiyin (859 A.D) into a university under the supervision of the ministry of education in 1963.
^ Petersen, Andrew: Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, Routledge, 1996, ISBN 978-0-415-06084-4, p. 87 (entry "Fez"):
The Quaraouiyine Mosque, founded in 859, is the most famous mosque of Morocco and attracted continuous investment by Muslim rulers.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lulat, Y. G.-M.: A History Of African Higher Education From Antiquity To The Present: A Critical Synthesis Studies in Higher Education, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 978-0-313-32061-3, p. 70:
As for the nature of its curriculum, it was typical of other major madrasahs such as al-Azhar and Al Qarawiyyin, though many of the texts used at the institution came from Muslim Spain [...] Al-Qarawiyyin began its life as a small mosque constructed in 859 C.E. by means of an endowment bequeathed by a wealthy woman of much piety, Fatima bint Muhammed al-Fahri.
^ Shillington, Kevin: Encyclopedia of African History, Vol. 2, Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005, ISBN 978-1-57958-245-6, p. 1025:
Higher education has always been an integral part of Morocco, going back to the ninth century when the Karaouine Mosque was established. The mosque school, known today as Al Qayrawaniyan University, became part of the state university system in 1947.
^ Tibawi, A. L. (1980). "Review of Jami' al-Qarawiyyin: al-Masjid wa'l-Jami'ah bi Madinat Fas (Mausu'ah li-Tarikhiha al-Mi'mari wa'l-Fikri). Al Qaraouiyyine: la Mosquée-Université de Fès (histoire architecturale et intellectuelle)". Arab Studies Quarterly. 2 (3): 286–288. ISSN 0271-3519. JSTOR 41859050. there is very little to distinguish it from other institutions that go under the general description of madrasa
^ Sabki, A'ishah Ahmad; Hardaker, Glenn (1 August 2013). "The madrasah concept of Islamic pedagogy". Educational Review. 65 (3): 343. doi:10.1080/00131911.2012.668873. ISSN 0013-1911. S2CID 144718475. Traditionalist curriculum is conventionally focused and is naturally open to diverse influences that also represent a traditional Islamic way (Nadwi 2007). For example many madrasah teachers are versed in Islamic pedagogy but also in modern university pedagogic developments such as behaviourist, cognitivist and the more recent constructivist styles. Al-Qarawiyyin University, in Morocco, represents such an institution that is grounded in a traditional madrasah education but for example, continues to adopt ancillary subjects and modern technologies such as mobile learning.
^ Makdisi, George: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", Studia Islamica, No. 32 (1970), pp. 255–264 (255f.):
In studying an institution which is foreign and remote in point of time, as is the case of the medieval madrasa, one runs the double risk of attributing to it characteristics borrowed from one's own institutions and one's own times. Thus gratuitous transfers may be made from one culture to the other, and the time factor may be ignored or dismissed as being without significance. One cannot, therefore, be too careful in attempting a comparative study of these two institutions: the madrasa and the university. But in spite of the pitfalls inherent in such a study, albeit sketchy, the results which may be obtained are well worth the risks involved. In any case, one cannot avoid making comparisons when certain unwarranted statements have already been made and seem to be currently accepted without question. The most unwarranted of these statements is the one which makes of the "madrasa" a "university".
^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Oldest higher-learning institution, oldest university". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference UNESCO_old was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference :35 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ahmed, Sumayya (26 May 2016). "Learned women: three generations of female Islamic scholarship in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 21 (3): 470–484. doi:10.1080/13629387.2016.1158110. ISSN 1362-9387. S2CID 147461138.

[Lulat_2005,_154–157-1] Cite error: The named reference Lulat 2005, 154–157 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Park_&_Boum_2006,_348_with_quote-2] Park, Thomas K.; Boum, Aomar: Historical Dictionary of Morocco, 2nd ed., Scarecrow Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8108-5341-6, p. 348
al-qarawiyin is the oldest university in Morocco. It was founded as a mosque in Fès in the middle of the ninth century. It has been a destination for students and scholars of Islamic sciences and Arabic studies throughout the history of Morocco. There were also other religious schools like the madras of ibn yusuf and other schools in the sus. This system of basic education called al-ta'lim al-aSil was funded by the sultans of Morocco and many famous traditional families. After independence, al-qarawiyin maintained its reputation, but it seemed important to transform it into a university that would prepare graduates for a modern country while maintaining an emphasis on Islamic studies. Hence, al-qarawiyin university was founded in February 1963 and, while the dean's residence was kept in Fès, the new university initially had four colleges located in major regions of the country known for their religious influences and madrasas. These colleges were kuliyat al-shari's in Fès, kuliyat uSul al-din in Tétouan, kuliyat al-lugha al-'arabiya in Marrakech (all founded in 1963), and kuliyat al-shari'a in Ait Melloul near Agadir, which was founded in 1979.

[Belhachmi_2008-3] Belhachmi, Zakia (2008). Women, Education, and Science within the Arab-Islamic Socio-Cultural History: Legacies for Social Change. Brill. p. 91. ISBN 978-90-8790-579-8. Significantly, the institutional adjustments of the madaris combined both the structure and the content of these institutions. In terms of structure, the adjustments were twofold: the reorganization of the available original madaris, and the creation of new institutions. This resulted in three different types of Islamic teaching institutions in al-Maghrib. The first type was derived from the fusion of old madaris with new universities. For example, Morocco transformed Al-Qarawiyin (859 A.D) into a university under the supervision of the ministry of education in 1963.

[Petersen_1996,_87-4] Petersen, Andrew: Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, Routledge, 1996, ISBN 978-0-415-06084-4, p. 87 (entry "Fez"):
The Quaraouiyine Mosque, founded in 859, is the most famous mosque of Morocco and attracted continuous investment by Muslim rulers.

[:0-5] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Lulat_2005,_70-6] Lulat, Y. G.-M.: A History Of African Higher Education From Antiquity To The Present: A Critical Synthesis Studies in Higher Education, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 978-0-313-32061-3, p. 70:
As for the nature of its curriculum, it was typical of other major madrasahs such as al-Azhar and Al Qarawiyyin, though many of the texts used at the institution came from Muslim Spain [...] Al-Qarawiyyin began its life as a small mosque constructed in 859 C.E. by means of an endowment bequeathed by a wealthy woman of much piety, Fatima bint Muhammed al-Fahri.

[Shillington_2005,_1025-7] Shillington, Kevin: Encyclopedia of African History, Vol. 2, Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005, ISBN 978-1-57958-245-6, p. 1025:
Higher education has always been an integral part of Morocco, going back to the ninth century when the Karaouine Mosque was established. The mosque school, known today as Al Qayrawaniyan University, became part of the state university system in 1947.

[:8-8] Tibawi, A. L. (1980). "Review of Jami' al-Qarawiyyin: al-Masjid wa'l-Jami'ah bi Madinat Fas (Mausu'ah li-Tarikhiha al-Mi'mari wa'l-Fikri). Al Qaraouiyyine: la Mosquée-Université de Fès (histoire architecturale et intellectuelle)". Arab Studies Quarterly. 2 (3): 286–288. ISSN 0271-3519. JSTOR 41859050. there is very little to distinguish it from other institutions that go under the general description of madrasa

[:37-9] Sabki, A'ishah Ahmad; Hardaker, Glenn (1 August 2013). "The madrasah concept of Islamic pedagogy". Educational Review. 65 (3): 343. doi:10.1080/00131911.2012.668873. ISSN 0013-1911. S2CID 144718475. Traditionalist curriculum is conventionally focused and is naturally open to diverse influences that also represent a traditional Islamic way (Nadwi 2007). For example many madrasah teachers are versed in Islamic pedagogy but also in modern university pedagogic developments such as behaviourist, cognitivist and the more recent constructivist styles. Al-Qarawiyyin University, in Morocco, represents such an institution that is grounded in a traditional madrasah education but for example, continues to adopt ancillary subjects and modern technologies such as mobile learning.

[:17-10] Makdisi, George: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", Studia Islamica, No. 32 (1970), pp. 255–264 (255f.):
In studying an institution which is foreign and remote in point of time, as is the case of the medieval madrasa, one runs the double risk of attributing to it characteristics borrowed from one's own institutions and one's own times. Thus gratuitous transfers may be made from one culture to the other, and the time factor may be ignored or dismissed as being without significance. One cannot, therefore, be too careful in attempting a comparative study of these two institutions: the madrasa and the university. But in spite of the pitfalls inherent in such a study, albeit sketchy, the results which may be obtained are well worth the risks involved. In any case, one cannot avoid making comparisons when certain unwarranted statements have already been made and seem to be currently accepted without question. The most unwarranted of these statements is the one which makes of the "madrasa" a "university".

[:4-11] Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[12] "Oldest higher-learning institution, oldest university". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 30 July 2020.

[UNESCO_old-13] Cite error: The named reference UNESCO_old was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:35-14] Cite error: The named reference :35 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:36-15] Ahmed, Sumayya (26 May 2016). "Learned women: three generations of female Islamic scholarship in Morocco". The Journal of North African Studies. 21 (3): 470–484. doi:10.1080/13629387.2016.1158110. ISSN 1362-9387. S2CID 147461138.

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