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“If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.”
The vision and investment of one woman from the city of Morocco paved the way for the development of world’s first university, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco.
Fatima -al-Fihri, also known as “Umm al Banyan” who hails from Qayrawan in Tunisia migrated to Morocco with her family in her early years. Upon the death of her father, she inherited large wealth which was invested in founding a mosque. After the mosque’s completion in the year 859, Al-Fihri established the University of Al-Qarawiyyin as an extension of the mosque .It was named Al –Qarawiyyin in tribute to her native place.
UNESCO and the Guinness World’s record considers it as the first degree granting educational institution in the world. From the 10th century the famous mosque of al-Qarawiyyin became the first religious institute and the largest Arab university of North Africa. It attracted a lot of students and renowned scientists.
Fatima al- Kabbaj, one of its first female students, later became the sole female member of the Moroccan Supreme Council of Religious Knowledge.
The other graduates of the University include several poets, Faqîhs (Muslim jurist), astronomers and mathematicians from all over the region. Some of the alumni of the university include the famous historian Abdurahman Ibn Khaldun, the doctor and philosopher Abu Walid Ibn Rushd, the Andalusian doctor Musa Ibn Maimonou and Gerbert of Aurillac, who became Pope Sylvester II.
The University of al-Qarawiyyin is still in operation today, and amid its other attractions, houses one of the world’s oldest libraries. The library contains over 4000 manuscripts, including the famous historian Ibn Khaldun’s 14thcentury text Muqaddimah.
Al –Fihri has indeed left a lasting legacy. In 2017, a prize was created in Tunisia in her honor. It rewards initiatives which encourage access to training and professional responsibilities for women. Furthermore, an academic program and a scholarship given to students from Europe and North Africa pay tribute to Fatima al-Fihri.