Al-Azhar University

Al-Azhar University

جامعة الأزهر (الشريف) Jāmiʻat al-Azhar (al-Sharīf)
Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Egypt
Type	Public
Established	970~972 - madrasa 1961 - university status
Religious affiliation	Sunni Islam
President	Usama al-Abd
Location	Cairo, Egypt 30°02′45″N 31°15′45″E / 30.04583°N 31.26250°E / 30.04583; 31.26250Coordinates: 30°02′45″N 31°15′45″E / 30.04583°N 31.26250°E / 30.04583; 31.26250
Campus	Urban
Website	www.azhar.edu.eg www.azhar.eg

Al-Azhar University (AHZ-har; Arabic: جامعة الأزهر (الشريف)‎‎ Jāmiʻat al-Azhar (al-Sharīf), IPA: [ˈɡæmʕet elˈʔɑzhɑɾ eʃʃæˈɾiːf], "the (honorable) Azhar University") is a university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Mosque in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is renowned as "Sunni Islam’s most prestigious university". In addition to higher education, Al-Azhar oversees a national network of schools with approximately two million students. As of 1996, over 4000 teaching institutes in Egypt were affiliated with the University.

Founded in 970 or 972 by the Fatimids as a centre of Islamic learning, its students studied the Qur'an and Islamic law in detail, along with logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the phases of the moon. It was one of the first universities in the world, and the only one in the Arabic world to survive as a modern university including secular subjects in the curriculum. Today it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world. In 1961 additional non-religious subjects were added to its curriculum.

Its mission is to propagate Islam and Islamic culture. To this end, its Islamic scholars (ulamas) render edicts (fatwas) on disputes submitted to them from all over the Sunni Islamic world regarding proper conduct for Muslim individuals and societies. Al-Azhar also trains Egyptian government-appointed preachers in proselytization (da'wa).