December 2019
Underappreciated
On my day of wandering in Fes, I stumbled across this complex of buildings. The Kairaouine Mosque and University. Its claim to fame? the oldest university in the world, but what I learned later about it was even more astonishing.
The University of al-Qarawiyyin, also written Al-Karaouine, is a university located in Fez, Morocco. It was founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 857–859 and subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Islamic Golden Age. It was incorporated into Morocco's modern state university system in 1963 and officially renamed "University of Al Quaraouiyine" two years later. The mosque building itself is also a significant complex of historical Moroccan and Islamic architecture that features elements from many different periods of Moroccan history. Scholars consider al-Qarawiyyin to have been effectively run as a madrasa until after World War II. Many scholars distinguish this status from the status of "university", which they view as a distinctly European invention. They date al-Qarawiyyin's transformation from a madrasa into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963. Some sources, such as UNESCO and the Guinness World Records, cite al-Qarawiyyin as the oldest university or oldest continually operating higher learning institution in the world.
(Wikipedia)
At the time I visited, it was just another incredibly old architectural artifact whose claim was "maybe" one of the oldest universities in the world. (Oxford, Salamanca, Bologna, Malta .... they are in a constant battle over who has the oldest university). I walked around the interior (could not enter the mosque) of the "university" side of the complex and marveled at its architecture. Since I had seen so many other similar buildings in the same style from the same period, even though the complex was beautiful, it was not a stand out.
Fast forward three years and I am teaching at a women's university in Bangladesh where I learned that Kairaouine University was not only maybe one of the oldest in the world, it was founded by A WOMAN! The Wikipedia article on the university names her and describes her history clearly, yet there is no special recognition given to her incredible accomplishment. What is highlighted is the discussion (by Europeans, undoubtedly mostly-male) if Kairaouine University was actually a "university", which fuels the not-really-a-serious-claim point of view.
The easiest way to bury any information is to hide it in plain sight and simply not acknowledge its uniqueness. No one denies who founded the university - the information is complete with her details (life and biography). The Wikipedia entry mentions, of course, that she used her FATHER's fortune to establish the mosque and university. In my opinion, the thing everyone should focus on is that a women made a great accomplishment atypical of her time. That is not discussed at all. So often the accomplishments of women are presented with almost no fanfare while those of men are lauded up and down.
Fatima al-Fihri, you made such a difference, but people are still struggling to notice.