University of Al-Azhar

University of Al-Azhar, university in Cairo, Egypt. Al-Azhar is one of the most important centers for Islamic learning (see Islam). The site was founded as a mosque in Cairo in ad 970 by Jauhar, an ex-slave and general in the army of Caliph Moizz, a member of the Fatimid dynasty. In 988 the university emerged through the influence of Yaqub ibn-Qillis, a converted Muslim of Jewish ancestry, and it developed as a major center for Islamic scholarship, providing education for students of all ages. During the 12th century, Muslim leader Saladin converted the university into an agency of orthodoxy as part of his war against Western crusaders. Until about 1925, the university offered courses based solely on the traditions and interpretations of the Qur'an (Koran), the sacred scripture of Islam.

The university was liberalized in 1924 and 1925 by reforms instituted under the auspices of the Egyptian government. Because of recommendations set forth by the reformers and adopted by the Egyptian government in 1962, the university grew to include the study of foreign languages and engineering as well as schools of agriculture, commerce, science, and medicine. The older curriculum, including study of the word of God, traditions of Muhammad, Islamic jurisprudence, principles of Muslim law, logic, science of theology, rudimentary arithmetic, and elementary geography, remained in place.

In 1962 the university began allowing women to enroll, admitting 100 that year. In 1992 students in the university numbered about 90,000, but a large proportion of these were enrolled in the numerous affiliated institutes for primary and secondary education. The university’s central library contains approximately 80,000 volumes, including many manuscripts.