University

===Antecedents===
{{see also|Ancient higher-learning institutions}}
[[File:Bou_Inania_Madrasa,Fes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Moroccan higher-learning institution [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|Al-Qarawiyin]], founded in 859 A.D., was transformed into a university under the supervision of the Ministry of Education in 1963.<ref name="Belhachmi 2003, 65">Belhachmi, Zakia: "Gender, Education, and Feminist Knowledge in al-Maghrib (North Africa) – 1950–70", ''Journal of Middle Eastern and North African Intellectual and Cultural Studies, Vol. 2–3'', 2003, pp.&nbsp;55–82 (65): {{blockquote|The Adjustments of Original Institutions of the Higher Learning: the Madrasah. Significantly, the institutional adjustments of the madrasahs affected 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 two 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.}}</ref>]]

An early institution, often called a university, is the [[Harran University (Middle Ages)|Harran University]], founded in the late [[8th century]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Frew |first=Donald |date=1999 |title=Harran: Last Refuge of Classical Paganism |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/POM/article/view/2691 |journal=The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies |volume=13 |issue=9 |pages=17–29 |doi=10.1558/pome.v13i9.17}}</ref> Scholars occasionally call the [[University of al-Qarawiyyin]] (name given in 1963), founded as a [[mosque]] by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 CE, a university,<ref>Verger, Jacques: "Patterns", in: Ridder-Symoens, Hilde de (ed.): ''A History of the University in Europe. Vol. I: Universities in the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 2003, {{ISBN|978-0-521-54113-8}}, pp.&nbsp;35–76 (35)</ref><ref name="founding">{{cite book |last=Esposito |first=John |author-link=John L. Esposito |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |year=2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-1951-2559-7 |page=328 }}</ref><ref name="Najm">Joseph, S, and Najmabadi, A. '' Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Economics, education, mobility, and space''. Brill, 2003, p. 314.</ref><ref name="Swart">Swartley, Keith. ''Encountering the World of Islam''. Authentic, 2005, p. 74.</ref> although Jacques Verger writes that this is done out of scholarly convenience.<ref>A History of the University in Europe. Vol. I: Universities in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press, 2003, 35</ref> Several scholars consider that al-Qarawiyyin was founded<ref>Petersen, Andrew: ''Dictionary of Islamic Architecture'', Routledge, 1996, {{ISBN|978-0-415-06084-4}}, p.&nbsp;87 (entry "Fez"): {{blockquote|The Quaraouiyine Mosque, founded in 859, is the most famous mosque of Morocco and attracted continuous investment by Muslim rulers.}}</ref><ref name="Lulat 2005, 70">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.&nbsp;70: {{blockquote|As for the nature of its curriculum, it was typical of other major madrasahs such as al-Azhar and Al Quaraouiyine, though many of the texts used at the institution came from Muslim Spain...Al Quaraouiyine 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.}}</ref> and run<ref name="Belhachmi 2003, 65"/><ref name="Shillington 2005, 1025">[[Kevin Shillington|Shillington, Kevin]]: ''[[Encyclopedia of African History]]'', Vol. 2, Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005, {{ISBN|978-1-57958-245-6}}, p.&nbsp;1025: {{blockquote|Higher education has always been an integral part of Morocco, going back to the ninth century when the Karaouine Mosque was established. The [[madrasa]], known today as Al Qayrawaniyan University, became part of the state university system in 1947.}} They consider institutions like al-Qarawiyyin to be [[higher education]] colleges of [[Islamic law]] where other subjects were only of secondary importance.</ref><ref>Pedersen, J.; Rahman, Munibur; Hillenbrand, R.: "Madrasa", in ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'', 2nd edition, Brill, 2010: {{blockquote|[[Madrasa]], in modern usage, the name of an institution of learning where the [[Islamic sciences]] are taught, i.e. a college for higher studies, as opposed to an elementary school of traditional type ([[kuttab]]); in medieval usage, essentially a college of [[law]] in which the other Islamic sciences, including literary and philosophical ones, were ancillary subjects only.}}</ref><ref>[[Josef W. Meri|Meri, Josef W.]] (ed.): ''[[Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia]]'', Vol. 1, A–K, Routledge, {{ISBN|978-0-415-96691-7}}, p.&nbsp;457 (entry "madrasa"): {{blockquote|A [[madrasa]] is a college of [[Islamic law]]. The madrasa was an educational institution in which Islamic law ([[fiqh]]) was taught according to one or more [[Sunni]] rites: [[Maliki]], [[Shafi'i]], [[Hanafi]], or [[Hanbali]]. It was supported by an endowment or charitable trust ([[waqf]]) that provided for at least one chair for one professor of law, income for other faculty or staff, scholarships for students, and funds for the maintenance of the building. Madrasas contained lodgings for the professor and some of his students. Subjects other than law were frequently taught in madrasas, and even [[Sufi]] seances were held in them, but there could be no madrasa without law as technically the major subject.}}</ref><ref>Makdisi, George: "Madrasa and University in the Middle Ages", ''[[Studia Islamica]]'', No. 32 (1970), pp.&nbsp;255–264 (255f.): {{blockquote|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".}}</ref> as a [[madrasa]] until after [[World War II]]. They date the transformation of the madrasa of al-Qarawiyyin into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963.<ref name="Lulat 2005, 154–157">Lulat, Y. G.-M.: ''A History Of African Higher Education From Antiquity To The Present: A Critical Synthesis'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0-313-32061-3}}, pp.&nbsp;154–157</ref><ref name="Park & Boum 2006, 348">Park, Thomas K.; Boum, Aomar: ''Historical Dictionary of Morocco'', 2nd ed., Scarecrow Press, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-8108-5341-6}}, p.&nbsp;348  {{blockquote|''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 (education)|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 [[madrasa]]s. 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.}}</ref><ref name="Belhachmi 2003, 65" /> In the wake of these reforms, al-Qarawiyyin was officially renamed "University of Al Quaraouiyine" two years later.<ref name="Lulat 2005, 154–157" />

Some scholars, including George Makdisi, have argued that early medieval universities were influenced by the madrasas in [[Al-Andalus]], the [[Emirate of Sicily]], and the [[Middle East]] during the [[Crusades]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nuria Sanz, Sjur Bergan|title=The heritage of European universities, Volume 548|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M09rKWhN3soC&q=The+Heritage+of+European+Universities|publisher=[[Council of Europe]]|page=28|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905161423/https://books.google.com/books?id=M09rKWhN3soC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Heritage+of+European+Universities&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AZ8LT6SED-Hv0gH_kImMBg&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=arab-oriental&f=false|archive-date=5 September 2015|isbn=9789287161215|date=1 January 2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Makdisi|first=George|title=Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=109|issue=2|date=April–June 1989|pages=175–182 [175–77]|doi=10.2307/604423|jstor=604423}}; {{Cite journal|last=Makdisi|first=John A.|title=The Islamic Origins of the Common Law|journal=[[North Carolina Law Review]]|date=June 1999|volume=77|issue=5|pages=1635–1739}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A History of Christian-Muslim Relations|first=Hugh|last=Goddard|year=2000|publisher=[[Edinburgh University Press]]|isbn=978-0-7486-1009-9|page=99}}</ref> Norman Daniel, however, views this argument as overstated.<ref name='NDaniel2'>{{cite journal | title = Review of "The Rise of Colleges. Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West by George Makdisi" | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society | year = 1984 | first = Norman | last = Daniel | volume = 104 | issue = 3 | pages = 586–8| jstor = 601679 | quote = Professor Makdisi argues that there is a missing link in the development of Western scholasticism, and that Arab influences explain the "dramatically abrupt" appearance of the "sic et non" method. Many medievalists will think the case overstated, and doubt that there is much to explain. | doi=10.2307/601679 }}</ref> In 2013, Roy Lowe and Yoshihito  claimed that the influences of scholarship from the Islamic world on the universities of Western Europe requires a reconsideration of the development of higher education, turning away from a concern with local institutional structures to a broader consideration within a global context.<ref>{{Citation | editor-last = Feingold | editor-first = Mordecai | last1 = Lowe | first1 = Roy | last2 = Yasuhara | first2 = Yoshihito | chapter = The origins of higher learning: time for a new historiography? | title = History of Universities | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–19 | date = 2013 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iRl8AAAAQBAJ&q=History+of+Universities:+Volume+XXVII/1 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150905153758/https://books.google.com/books?id=iRl8AAAAQBAJ&dq=History+of+Universities%3A+Volume+XXVII%2F1&source=gbs_navlinks_s | archive-date = 5 September 2015 | df = dmy-all | isbn = 9780199685844 }}</ref>