The university Al-Azhar was founded with the Cairo after the construction of the mosque into 969 according to the Christian calendar (358 according to the Moslem Calendrier). Three years and half after its construction, the mosque starts to play its part in the diffusion and the teaching of Islamic sciences. Al-Azhar is one of the principal universities for the propagation of the Islam.

Foundation

During the month of Ramadan 365 (October 975, Christian calendar), the Large judge of Egypt, Abû Al-Hassan, sitted in the court of the mosque, teaches “Al-Ikhtisâr”, a Shiite legal book, in front of a great audience. This course is the departure of teaching in the mosque. If these meetings had like drank the teaching of Islamic sciences, they took sometimes political orientations.

In 988 Al-Azhar became an Islamic university strictly speaking. Al-Azhar is the second oldest Islamic university in the world, after the university Quaraouiyine with Fès. The two institutions were a long time in competition on the scientific level.

Teaching

With the wire of time, teaching grew rich by course of literature and Arab language. The Al-Azhar reputation did not cease growing and connects it Shiite was eclipsed by the branch sunnite.

In 1822, the education system was regulated and programs it established with precision. The most diploma delivered then by Al-Azhar, which is equivalent today to a doctorate, granted the respect due to its holder. In 1939, a construction project of large university Al-Azhar is estimated at 100 Franc million of the time.

Into 1950, the education system of Al-Azhar is divided into three faculties:

• Islamic jurisprudence;
• bases of the religion and theology;
• Arab language .

Technical and practical faculties are created in 1961, to teach medicine, the engineerings, agriculture, etc

Today, university Al-Azhar is more the high ranking authority of Islam sunnite and forms the majority of the muftis of Asia and Africa. Its vice-chancellor is Mohammed Tantaoui, 43e Imam of mosque Al-Azhar.

Students

It counts more than twenty thousand students of which five thousand are foreigners. In parallel, 0,8  % of the Egyptian students make their studies abroad.

Among the famous students, one counts:

• Saad Zaghloul ;
• Taha Hussein;
• Hassan El-Banna, founder of the Muslim brothers;
• Aldine Izz Al-Qassam, one of the fathers of Palestinian resistance;
• Mohamed Abduh, lawyer and an Egyptian mufti, founder of the Islamic modernism;
• Ahmed Yassin, cofounder of the Hamas;
• Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives.

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