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Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR", ; , "the Noble Azhar") in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, founded in 975, is the chief centre of Arabic literature
Arabic literature

Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers of the Arabic language. It does not usually include works written using the Arabic alphabet but not in the Arabic language such as Persian literature and Urdu literature....
 and Sunni Islamic learning
Islamic studies

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term. In a Muslim context, "Islamic studies" can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge....
 in the world and the world's second oldest surviving degree granting university
List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
. It is associated with Al-Azhar mosque
Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
 in Islamic Cairo
Islamic Cairo

File:Muizz Street.GIFIslamic Cairo is a part of central Cairo noted for its historically important mosques and other Islamic monuments. It is overlooked by the Cairo Citadel....
. The university's mission includes the propagation of Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic religion and culture. To this end, its Islamic scholars (ulema
Ulema

Ulema refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of Sharia law....
s) render edicts (fatwa
Fatwa

A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
s) on disputes submitted to them from all over the Sunni Islamic world regarding proper conduct for Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 individuals or societies (a recent example being the clarification and thus prohibition of female genital cutting
Female genital cutting

Female genital cutting , also known as female genital mutilation , female circumcision or female genital mutilation/cutting , refers to "all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female sex organ whether for culture, religion or other non-therapeutic reasons."...
).






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Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR", ; , "the Noble Azhar") in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
, founded in 975, is the chief centre of Arabic literature
Arabic literature

Arabic literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by writers of the Arabic language. It does not usually include works written using the Arabic alphabet but not in the Arabic language such as Persian literature and Urdu literature....
 and Sunni Islamic learning
Islamic studies

Islamic studies is an ambiguous term. In a Muslim context, "Islamic studies" can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge....
 in the world and the world's second oldest surviving degree granting university
List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
. It is associated with Al-Azhar mosque
Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
 in Islamic Cairo
Islamic Cairo

File:Muizz Street.GIFIslamic Cairo is a part of central Cairo noted for its historically important mosques and other Islamic monuments. It is overlooked by the Cairo Citadel....
. The university's mission includes the propagation of Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
ic religion and culture. To this end, its Islamic scholars (ulema
Ulema

Ulema refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of Sharia law....
s) render edicts (fatwa
Fatwa

A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
s) on disputes submitted to them from all over the Sunni Islamic world regarding proper conduct for Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 individuals or societies (a recent example being the clarification and thus prohibition of female genital cutting
Female genital cutting

Female genital cutting , also known as female genital mutilation , female circumcision or female genital mutilation/cutting , refers to "all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female sex organ whether for culture, religion or other non-therapeutic reasons."...
). Al-Azhar also trains Egyptian government appointed preachers in proselytization (da'wa).

Its library
Library

A library is a collection of information, sources, resources, books, and services, and the structure in which it is housed: it is organized for use and maintained by a public body, an institution, or a private individual....
 is considered second in importance in Egypt only to the Egyptian National Library and Archives
Egyptian National Library and Archives

The Egyptian National Library and Archives in Cairo is the largest library in Egypt. The second largest are the libraries of Al-Azhar University and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina ....
. In May 2005, Al-Azhar in partnership with a Dubai information technology enterprise, launched the H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Project to Preserve Al Azhar Scripts and Publish Them Online (the "Al-Azhar Online Project") with the mission of eventually providing online access to the library's entire rare manuscripts collection (comprising about seven million pages).

History

The university was founded by the Fatimid
Fatimid

The Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fatimiyyun was an Arab Shi'a dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, Sicily, Malta and the Levant from 5 January 909 to 1171....
 dynasty of Egypt, descended from Fatimah
Fatimah

Fatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadija. Sheis regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women....
, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad

Muhammad Patronymic#Arabic Abd Allah ibn Abd al Muttalib , is the founder of the Major religious groups of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a Rasul and prophet of , the last and the greatest law-bearer in a series of prophets....
. Fatimah was called Az-Zahra (the brilliant), and the university was named in her honor.

Studies began at Al-Azhar in the month of Ramadan
Ramadan

Rama?an is an Islamic religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar; the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet of Islam Muhammad....
, 975 AD. The university (Jami'ah
Madrasah

File:Registan_-_Sherdor_madrasa.jpgMadrasah is the Arabic word for any type of school, whether secular or religious . It is variously Arabic transliteration as madrasah, madarasaa, medresa, madrassa, madraza, madarsa, etc....
) had faculties
Faculty (university)

A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas . The concept of a university with different faculties for different subjects dates back to Al-Azhar University, which had individual faculties for a Madrasah and theological seminary, Sharia and Fiqh, Arabic grammar, Islamic astronom...
 in Islamic law
Sharia

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law. The term means "way" or "path to the water source"; it is the legal framework within which the public and private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Fiqh and for Muslims living outside the domain....
 and jurisprudence
Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law?based directly on the Quran and Sunnah?that complements Shariah with evolving Fatwa/interpretations of Ulema....
, Arabic grammar
Arabic grammar

Arabic is a Semitic languages language. See Arabic language for more information on the language in general. This article describes the grammar of Classical Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic - the Arabic grammar ....
, Islamic astronomy
Islamic astronomy

In the history of astronomy, Islamic astronomy or Arabic astronomy refers to the astronomical developments made in the Islamic world, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age , and mostly written in the Arabic language....
, Islamic philosophy
Early Islamic philosophy

Early Islamic philosophy or classical Islamic philosophy is a period of intense philosophical development beginning in the 2nd century AH of the Islamic calendar and lasting until the 6th century AH ....
, and logic
Logic in Islamic philosophy

Logic played an important role in early Islamic philosophy, making logic in Islamic philosophy an important branch of study in the history of logic....
.

In the 12th century, following the overthrow of the Shia Fatimid
Fatimid

The Fatimid Caliphate or al-Fatimiyyun was an Arab Shi'a dynasty that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Egypt, Sicily, Malta and the Levant from 5 January 909 to 1171....
 dynasty, King Saladin
Saladin

ala ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub , better known as Saladin in medieval Europe, was the Sultan of Egypt and Greater Syria. He led the Islamic opposition to the Second Crusade and Third Crusade....
 (the founder of the staunchly Sunni Ayyubid dynasty) converted Al-Azhar to a Shafi'ite Sunni center of learning.

In 1961, Al-Azhar was reorganised by the Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. Along with Muhammad Naguib, he led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which removed Farouk of Egypt and heralded a new period of industrialization in Egypt, together with a profound advancement of Arab nationalism, including a short-lived United Arab Republ...
 government and several secular faculties were added to the university, such as medicine, engineering and agriculture. An Islamic women's faculty was also added in the same year, six years after Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah

Begum Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah was a pioneer of Pakistani literature and journalism in English language, and also a pioneer of feminism in Pakistan....
 had been the first woman to speak at the university.

Magazine publishing

Since 1929, Al-Azhar has published a magazine (now monthly) whose stated mission is to publicise religious rules, subjects related to Islamic literature, and basic jurisprudence (shariah), including sections on history, biographies, translated texts, and news concerning the Muslim world.

Political views

Al Azhar, Egypt
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy

Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi is the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque and Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University. He has been described as "perhaps the foremost Sunni Arab authority", "acknowledged as the highest spiritual authority for nearly a billion Sunni Muslims", and "a supreme authority."...
, the current Imam of Al-Azhar, has declared that the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks and suicide bombers to be "heretics" who are deviating from the true path of Islam
Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
. At a conference in Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, he called on all "true believers" to deny proponents of extremist and heretical forms of Islam the opportunity to give speeches in mosques, with a view to preventing the spread of violent ideologies.

Ali Goma'a
Ali Gomaa

Sheikh Ali Goma'a is the Grand Mufti of Egypt through Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah succeeding Ahmad El-Tayeb. He has been called "one of the most widely respected jurists in the Sunni Muslim world," and described as "a highly promoted champion of moderate Islam," gender equality, and an "object of hatred among Islamists." He specializes in th...
, the Egyptian Mufti
Mufti

A mufti is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . A muftiat or diyanet is a council of muftis....
 associated with Al-Azhar, has also declared that Islam authorizes the thwarting and eradication of insurgents who kidnap and kill civilians in Iraq
Iraq

Iraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros Mountains, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
 since they wreak havoc on Earth.

Sheikh Tantawy has noted that among the priorities of Muslims are "to master all knowledge of the world and the hereafter, not least the technology of modern weapons to strengthen and defend the community and faith". He adds that "mastery over modern weaponry is important to prepare for any eventuality or prejudices of the others, although Islam is a religion of peace.".

Sheikh Tantawy also reasserts that his is the best faith to follow (a tenet common to proponents of many religions) and that Muslims have the duty of active da'wa. He has made declarations about Muslims interacting with non-Muslims who are not a threat to Muslims. There are non-Muslims living apart from Muslims and who are not enemies of Islam ("Muslims are allowed to undertake exchanges of interests with these non-Muslims so long as these ties do not tarnish the image of the faith"), and there are "the non-Muslims who live in the same country as the Muslims in cooperation and on friendly terms, and are not enemies of the faith" ("in this case, their rights and responsibilities are the same as the Muslims so long as they do not become enemies of Islam").

On freedom of speech

In October 2007, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy

Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi is the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque and Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University. He has been described as "perhaps the foremost Sunni Arab authority", "acknowledged as the highest spiritual authority for nearly a billion Sunni Muslims", and "a supreme authority."...
, the current Imam of Al-Azhar, drew allegations of stifling freedom of speech when he asked the Egyptian government to toughen its rules and punishments against journalists. During a Friday sermon in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and a number of ministers, Tantawy is alleged to have stated that journalism which contributes to the spread of false rumours rather than true news deserves to be boycotted, and that it is tantamount to sinning for readers to purchase such newspapers. Tantawy, a supporter of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak

Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, , is an Egyptian political figure and military officer. He was appointed Vice President of Egypt in 1975, and assumed the presidency of the Egypt on 14 October 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar Al Sadat....
, also called for a punishment of eighty lashes to "those who spread rumors" in an indictment of speculation by journalists over Mubarak's ill health and possible death. This is not the first time that he has criticized the Egyptian press regarding its news coverage nor is it the first time he in return has been accused by the press of opposing freedom of speech. During a religious celebration in the same month, Tantawy released comments alluding to "the arrogant and the pretenders who accuse others with the ugliest vice and unsubstantiated charges". In response, Egypt's press union issued a statement suggesting that Tantawy appeared to be involved in inciting and escalating a campaign against journalists and freedom of the press.

Notable persons associated with the university


Al-Azhar University has had a huge impact on the religious, cultural and political arena in Egypt, the Middle East, and the whole Islamic world

1800 - early 1900s

  • Muhammad Abduh
    Muhammad Abduh

    Muhammad Abduh was an Egyptians jurist, religious scholar and liberal reformer, regarded as the founder of Islamic Modernism. A recent book titled "Islam and Liberty" regarded Muhammad Abduh as the founder of the so-called Neo-Mu'tazili....
    , founder of Islamic Modernism
    Modern Islamic philosophy

    Contemporary Islamic philosophy refers to the situation of Islamic philosophy in the 20th century. New movements have emerged during this time due to encounter with modernity and Western philosophy....
    .
  • Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
    Izz ad-Din al-Qassam

    Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam , full name,Izz al-Din ibn Abd al-Qadar ibn Mustapha ibn Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Qassam, was an influential Sunni Islamic preacher in the British Mandate of Palestine....
    , founder and leader of Black Hand
    Black Hand (Palestine)

    The Black Hand was an Islamic resistance organization in the British Mandate of Palestine. It was founded in 1930 and led by Syrian-born Shaykh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam until his death in 1935....
  • Mohammad Amin al-Husayni
    Mohammad Amin al-Husayni

    Mohammad Amin al-Husayni , a member of the al-Husayni clan of Jerusalem, was a Palestinian nationalism Arab nationalism and Muslim leader in the British Mandate of Palestine....
    , Mufti
    Mufti

    A mufti is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . A muftiat or diyanet is a council of muftis....
     of Jerusalem
    Jerusalem

    Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
    , an Arab
    Arab

    An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
     nationalist
    Arab nationalism

    Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology which rose to prominence amongst Arabs from the early 20th century onwards. Its central premise is that the peoples and countries of the Arab World, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, constitute one nation and are bound together by their common linguistic, cultural, and historical heritage....
     and a Muslim
    Muslim

    :A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
     leader and an ally of Nazi Germany
    Anti-Zionism

    Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism, the international Jewish political movement that established a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine , and continues to support the state of Israel....
     in Palestine and Egypt
    Egypt

    Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
    .
  • Ahmed Orabi, the first Egyptian
    Egyptians

    Egyptians is the name of the nationality and Mediterranean North African ethnic group native to Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to the Geography of Egypt, dominated by the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the Cataracts of the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea and enclosed by desert both to the Easte...
     army officer and an army general leading the Urabi Revolt
    Urabi Revolt

    The Urabi Revolt or Orabi Revolt , also known as the Orabi Revolution, was an uprising in Egypt in 1879-82 against the Khedive and European influence in the country....
    .


1910-1950s

  • Hassan al-Banna
    Hassan al-Banna

    Hassan al-Banna was an Egyptians social and political reformer, best known for founding the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the largest and most influential 20th century Muslim revivalist organizations....
    , founder of the Muslim Brotherhood
    Muslim Brotherhood

    The Muslim Brothers is a transnational Sunni Islam movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly Egypt....
     (he graduated from Daru 'Ulom which is an affiliate of Cairo University)
  • Omar Abdel Rahman, leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
    Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya

    is an Egyptian Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorism organization by the United States, European Union and Egyptian governments. The group is dedicated to the overthrow of the Egyptian government and replacing it with an Islamic republic....
  • Taqiuddin al-Nabhani
    Taqiuddin al-Nabhani

    Taqiuddin al-Nabhani was a Sunni Shafi'i Islamic jurist, and theologian. He is the founder of the Islamic political party Hizb ut-Tahrir.He died aged 68 in 1977....
    , an eventual Wahabi, and self proclaimed Shafi'i, Salafi
    Salafi

    Salafi , is an Islamic movement that takes the ancestors of the patristic period of early Islam as models.Early usage of the term appears in the book Al-Ansab by Abu Sa'd Abd al-Kareem al-Sama'ni, who died in the year 1166 ....
    , Islamic jurist, theologian, and founder of Hizb ut-Tahrir
    Hizb ut-Tahrir

    Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international pan-Islamist, Sunni, vanguard political party whose goal is to combine all Muslim countries in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, ruled by Islamic law and with a caliph head of state elected by Muslims....
     organization.
  • Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of Hamas
    Hamas

    Hamas is an Islamic Palestine socio-political organization which includes a paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Since June 2007, Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip portion of the Palestinian Territories....
  • Saad Zaghlul
    Saad Zaghlul

    Saad Zaghloul was an Egyptians political figure. He served as prime minister of Egypt from 26 January 1924 to 24 November 1924.A native of Ibyana village, Gharbia Governorate in the Nile Delta, Saad Zaghloul led the nationalist forces in Egypt demanding independence....
     leader of 1919 revolution in Egypt.
  • Taha Hussein
    Taha Hussein

    Taha Hussein was one of the most influential Egyptians writers and intellectuals. He was a figurehead for the modernism movement in Egypt....
    , Influential Egyptian writer and intellectual
  • Muhammad Ma Jian
    Muhammad Ma Jian

    Muhammad Ma Jian, or Muhammad Makin was a Chinese Islamic scholar and translator.Born in Yunnan, Ma Jian went to Shanghai to pursue his studies in 1928....
    , translator of the Qur'an
    Qur'an

    The Qur?an is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur?an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God....
     into the Chinese language
    Chinese language

    Chinese or the Sinitic language is a language family consisting of language mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan languages of languages....


1950-

  • Mohammed Burhanuddin
    Mohammed Burhanuddin

    Mohammed Burhanuddin is the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq "Unrestricted Missionary" of a minority group of Ismaili Shia Islam Muslims, the Dawoodi Bohras....
    , Dai of Dawoodi Bohra done rediscovery of Al-Azhar University's past History www.mumineen.org.


  • Shire Jama Ahmed
    Shire Jama Ahmed

    Shire Jaamac Axmed is credited by most Western writers as the linguist who devised a unique Latin alphabet for the Somali language. He belonged to the Marehan branch of the Darod Somali clan....
    , Somali
    Somali people

    Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic languages subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic languages language family....
     linguist who devised a Latin script for the Somali language
    Somali language

    Somali is a member of the East Cushitic languages branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages language family spoken by Somali people in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya, as well as by the Somali diaspora around the world?an estimated total population of between 10 and 16 million speakers....
  • Mahmud Shaltut
    Mahmud Shaltut

    Shaykh Ma?mud Shaltut was an Egyptians Islamic scholar. He then spent many years at Al-Azhar in Cairo Egypt and rose to become rector or shaykh or grand imam and served in that position from 1958 to 1963....
    , Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, issued in 1961 a Fatwa
    Fatwa

    A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
     (Islamic ruling), declaring that Al-Azhar recognizes Shi'ism as a valid branch of Islam.
  • Abdel-Halim Mahmoud
    Abdel-Halim Mahmoud

    Sheikh Abdel-Halim Mahmoud served as Grand Imam of Al Azhar from 1973 until his death in 1978. He was known for his modernizing approach to teaching at Al Azhar, preaching moderation and embracing modern science as a religious duty....
    , Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar, introduced the study of Sufism
    Sufism

    Sufi is generally understood to be the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ufi , though some adherents of the tradition reserve this term only for those practitioners who have attained the goals of the Sufi tradition....
     as a science through his prolific writings and lectures on the matter.
  • Taha Jabir Alalwani
    Taha Jabir Alalwani

    Taha Jabir Alalwani , Ph.D., is President of Cordoba University. He also holds the Imam Al-Shafi'i Chair in Islamic Legal Theory at The Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences at Corboda University and is an internationally known scholar in his field....
    , President of Cordoba University (Ashburn, VA, USA), former Chairman of the Fiqh
    Fiqh

    Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the Sharia Islamic law?based directly on the Quran and Sunnah?that complements Shariah with evolving Fatwa/interpretations of Ulema....
     Council of North America, and the President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia (USA)
    Virginia

    The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
    .
  • Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, President of the Republic of Maldives.
  • Houari Boumédienne
    Houari Boumédienne

    Houari Boum?dienne served as Algeria's Chairman of the Revolutionary Council from 19 June 1965 until 12 December 1976, and from then on as President of Algeria to his death on 27 December 1978....
    , Former President of Algeria
    Algeria

    Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country of the Mediterranean sea, second largest in the Arab World, and the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area....
    .
  • Gus Dur, Former President of Indonesia
    Indonesia

    The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
    .


See also

  • List of Egyptian universities
    List of Egyptian universities

    This is a list of University in Egypt:...
  • List of mosques
    List of mosques

    A list of famous mosques around the world.Group...
  • Timeline of Islamic history
    • Islamic architecture
      Islamic architecture

      Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the History of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
    • Islamic art
      Islamic art

      File:Caucasian panel.jpgIslamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations....
  • Fatwa
    Fatwa

    A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
    s:
    • Al-Azhar Shia Fatwa
      Al-Azhar Shia Fatwa

      The Al-Azhar Shia Fatwa is an Islamic fatwa issued by the renowned Sunni Islam scholar Shaikh Mahmood Shaltoot.It is the fruit of a decade-long collaborative effort between a group of Sunni and Shia Islam scholars at the Dar al-Taqreeb al-Madhahib al-Islamiyyah theological center at Al-Azhar University in Cairo....


External links

  • (Al-Azhar for Islamic Fatwa
    Fatwa

    A fatwa , in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion on Sharia issued by an Ulema. In Sunni Islam any fatwa is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be, depending on the status of the scholar....
    )