Al-Azhar Masjid Egypt

Al-Azhar University (al-Azhar al-Shareef, "the Noble Azhar"), is a premier Egyptian institution of higher learning, world-renowned for its position as a center of Islamic scholarship and education. It was built by the Shia Fatimid Dynasty (909-1171) who established Cairo as their capital. It is connected to Al-Azhar Masjid in Old Cairo, Al-Azhar ( in Arabic: the most flourished and shining) was so called either because it was surrounded by great glittering places, or as a hopeful disposition, or after the name of Sayeda Fatima Al-Zahra', daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The mosque was built in two years from 969 AD, the year in which its foundation was laid. The school of theology (Madrasah) connected with it was founded in 988 AD. Studies began in Al-Azhar in Ramadan by October 975 AD, when Chief Justice Abul Hasan Ali ibn Al-No'man started teaching the book "Al-Ikhtisar", on the Shiite Jurisprudence. It became a Sunni school towards the end of the Middle Ages, an orientation it retains to this day. It is the oldest operating universities in the world.