According to UNESCO records Al-Qarawiyyi University (Also written Al-Karaouine) located in Fez, Morocco, North Africa is the world's oldest continuing university. It was constructed and financed by Fatima Al-Fihri as a Mosque and Madrasa in 859 AD. Among its earliest programs was Religious Studies, Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Medicine, Mathematics and Astronomy.
So famous and popular was the university that it received students and visitors from all corners of the world such that it had to introduce a strict selection system that required among other criteria the knowledge of Quran, Arabic, and General Science. It rapid growth was greatly aided by subsidies and gifts (Books and Manuscripts) from Sultans of the era. The university became a reference point for the establishment of other universities especially Europe oldest such as Bologna in Italy, the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, the University of Salamanca in Spain, and the University of Padua in Italy. The tradition such as wearing of academic gown and oral defense presentation was developed here.
The university founder Fatima Al-Fihri was an Arab woman born in 880 and migrated to Fez, Morocco from Kairouan, Tunisia with his father Mohammed Bnou Abdulla Al-Fihri and settled in Fez, Morocco. His father left her a huge inheritance that she used to construct and finance a Mosque and a Madrasa so that fellow migrants could have a place to learn and strengthen their faith. She personally supervised the construction of a 30 meters long building that had an internal courtyard, a masjid, a very spacious library, and school premises. She was well educated in Islamic Jurisprudence Figh and Hadith. The university has documented her Diploma in Islamic Studies
