Al-Azhar, the oldest university in the Arab world, is located in Egypt. Its main institution and historic center are in Cairo, where it developed alongside Al-Azhar Mosque in the city’s Islamic quarter.
The institution was founded under the Fatimid Caliphate in the late tenth century. Construction of the mosque began around 970 and was completed around 972. It initially served as a center of Islamic learning, teaching subjects such as Qur’anic studies, Islamic law, Arabic grammar, rhetoric, logic, and astronomy. Its name is associated with Fatimah al-Zahra, the daughter of Muhammad.
Al-Azhar became one of the most influential centers of Sunni Islamic scholarship, although its original Fatimid foundation was connected with Ismaili Shi’ism. In 1961, reforms expanded it into a modern university with faculties including medicine, engineering, science, and agriculture. A common confusion is with Al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco, another historic institution often described as one of the world’s oldest universities.