Everything about Al-azhar University totally explained
» For the university of the same name in Gaza, see Al-Azhar University - Gaza.
Al-Azhar University (;, "the Noble Azhar"), is an
Egyptian institution of higher learning. It is connected to Al-Azhar
mosque 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
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 one of the
oldest operating universities in the world.
Al-Azhar University was initially founded as a
Jami'ah ("university" in Arabic) which issued
academic degrees, for a
Madrasah and theological
seminary,
Islamic law and
jurisprudence,
Arabic grammar,
Islamic astronomy,
early Islamic philosophy and
logic in Islamic philosophy.
Reputation
Among the university's stated objectives is the propagation of Islamic religion and culture and the
Arabic language (the language of the
Qur'an.) To that end, it maintains a committee of
ulemas (Islamic scholars) to judge on individual Islamic questions, a printing establishment for printing the Qur'an, and training (government-appointed) preachers in spreading
da'wa.
Politics
Al-Azhar is run by a Supreme Council forming general policy, headed by a Grand Imam, known as "Sheikh Al-Azhar." Unlike most universities, it maintains a sectarian admissions policy and doesn't admit students who are not practicing Islam, thus it combines the institutions of a
Madrassah and
theological seminary, with those of the faculties established in
1961.
In 1961, Al-Azhar was reorganized by the Nasser Government and several secular faculties were added to the university, such as medicine, engineering, agriculture, as well as an Islamic women's faculty; added 6 years after
Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah became (In 1955) the first woman to speak at the university.
Literature
Al-Azhar library, which was consolidated in
1897, is considered second in range, variety and importance only to the
Egyptian National Library and Archives in Cairo. It comprises 99,062 books consisting of 595,668 volumes of Islamic manuscripts and rare books, some dating back to the 8th century. The library is a center of attraction to researchers, students and other Islamic universities. The library doesn't collect non-Islamic literature.
Since
1929, Al-Azhar has published a magazine (now monthly) whose stated purpose is to advertise religious rules, subjects related to Islamic literature, and basic jurisprudence
(shariah), including sections on history, biographies, translated texts and news concerning the Muslim world.
In 2005, the Al Azhar online document archive was launched. This is a joint venture between the university and the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project (ITEP) in Dubai. The archive intends to eventually give access to all 42,000 manuscripts (c. 7 million pages) in Al Azhar library.
Response to negative press
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, the current Imam of Al-Azhar, has declared that the perpetrators of the
9/11 attacks and suicide bombers are "heretics" who are not following the true path of
Islam. In a recent conference in
Indonesia, he asked all "true believers" to deny speakers of extremist and heretical forms of Islam places to speak in the mosque, thus preventing the spread of violent ideologies.
Ali Gomaa', the Egyptian
Mufti associated with Al Azhar, has also declared that insurgents who kidnap and kill civilians in
Iraq are the ones which Islam has authorized to thwart and eradicate since they wreak havoc on Earth.
Shaykh Tantawy goes extends the culture by putting among the priorities of Muslims "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.".
He also re-states a tenet common to many religious leaders, that his is the best faith to follow, and of the duty of active da'wa; while reinforcing the difference between the 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 don't tarnish the image of the faith"), and "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 don't become enemies of Islam").
In that last perspective, note may be taken of the great diversity of those graduated from the university. As an example, we can mention
Taha Hussein who is one of the most prominent intellectuals, writers and a leader in the modernist movement in Egypt during the twentieth century. Also,
Saad Zaghlul a figurehead in the Egyptian political arena in the first half of the same century, especially against the British occupation of Egypt. Before them, there was
Muhammad Abduh the founder of
Islamic Modernism and a respected Islamic scholar and
Ahmed Orabi who was the first Egyptian army officer and the leader of the
Urabi Revolt. The list includes as well
Hassan-i Sabbah, founder of the Assassins in the 11th century. Recent times have seen
Hassan al-Banna founding the
Muslim Brotherhood, responsible for the assassination of Egyptian prime minister
Mahmud Fahmi Nokrashi in 1948 Fact|date=October 2007}}
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin founder of
Hamas was also an alumnus. This shows the diversity and the huge impact Al-Azhar University had on the Islamic, cultural and political arena in Egypt, the middle east, and the whole Islamic world (see the list of notable persons below for more names).
Concerns regarding freedom of speech
In October 2007 Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, the current Imam of Al-Azhar has been accused of fighting the freedom of speech when he called the Egyptian government to toughen its rules and punishments against Journalists. The rise of this argument exploded when Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy during a Friday sermon with presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and a number of ministers stated that: Journalism that contributes to the spread of rumours and not true news deserve to be boycotted, and is a considered a sin by readers to buy them.
He also called for a punishment of eighty lashes for those "throwing" other charges false.
In response to that a statement issued by Egypt's press union stated that Sayyid Tantawy seemed to be involved in inciting and escalating campaign against journalists and freedom of the press in Egypt when it demanded the application of flogging in cases of publication
.
It is believed that this isn't the first time that Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy has been accused by Egypt's press union in not supporting the freedom of speech Mr Tantawy during the same month in 2007 in a religious celebration released comments that seemed to condone a recent government crackdown against opposition journalists in the country..
Notable persons associated with the university
Before 1800
1800 - early 1900s
1910-1950s
Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood (Hassan al-Banna graduated from Daru 'Ulom which is an affiliate of Cairo University)
Omar Abdel Rahman, leader of Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Taqiuddin al-Nabhani, a Sunni, Shafi'i, Sufi, Islamic jurist, theologian, and founder of the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir organization.
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, co-founder and leader of Hamas
Saad Zaghlul leader of 1919 revolution in Egypt.
Taha Hussein, Influential Egyptian writer and intellectual
Ibrahim Mukhtar, first Mufti of Eritrea
1950-
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of the Maldives
Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the Islamic state of Kelantan in Malaysia.
Azizan Abdul Razak, Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the Malaysian state of Kedah.
Mahmud Shaltut, Grand Sheik of Azhar, issued in 1961 a Fatwa (Islamic ruling), declaring that Al-Azhar recognizes Shi'ism as a valid branch of Islam.
Taha Jabir Alalwani, President of Cordoba University, former Chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, and the President of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Herndon, Virginia (USA).(External Link
)Further Information
Get more info on 'Al-azhar University'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://al-azhar_university.totallyexplained.com">Al-Azhar University Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
