Al Azhar University Cairo is one of the oldest universities in the world. It is an Islamic university associated with the magnificent historic Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo.
This university is an Egyptian institution for higher studies. Both the mosque and the university were named to tribute the honorable Fatima Az-Zahraa, who was the daughter and descendant of Muhammad, the ruler of the Fatimid Dynasty. This famous mosque was built around 971 AD. The school of theology or the Ismaili Shia School was founded in 988 ADand closely connected to this mosque. Later it became a Sunni school.
Education in Al Azhar University has not changed its trend over the decades and till today the glory of the institution has been retained. The students study the Qur'an and Islamic law extensively. The additional Islamic subjects include logic, rhetoric, grammar and methods to calculate the lunar phases of the moon. The process of learning is mainly based on
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memorization. The students sit in a circle or halqa and listen to the sheikh. The senior students most of the time are engaged in Socratic dialog with their instructors or supervise their juniors.
Al-Azhar only admits Muslim students. Although the main sphere of study is secularism yet there are many more contemporary faculties that were incorporated recently. The faculties of medicine and engineering were established in 1961. The Sunni Muslims consider this university to be the most prestigious school of Islamic law and evidently it has produced some of the highest scholars in the Muslim world. Since 1929 Al-Azhar have been publishing a monthly magazine based on Islamic literature.
Education at Islam in Al-Azhar University has been marked as one of the most advanced education in the enriched Islamic culture. Al Azhar University Cairo features a library consisting of priceless books and manuscripts on the Islamic culture and Arabic language.
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