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| Al-Azhar University | |
|---|---|
| الأزهر الشريف Al-ʾAzhar al-Šarīf | |
 | |
| Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo Egypt | |
| Established | 975 |
| Type: | Public, Islamic |
| Religious affiliation: | Sunni, Formerly Shiite |
| Sheikh: | Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy |
| Location: | Cairo, Egypt |
| Campus: | Urban |
Al-Azhar University (Arabic: الأزهر الشريف; Al-ʾAzhar al-Šarīf, "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,[citation needed] 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, and had individual facultiesGoddard, Hugh (2000), A History of Christian-Muslim Relations, Edinburgh University Press, p. 99, ISBN 074861009X for a Madrasah and theological seminary, Islamic law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, Islamic astronomy, early Islamic philosophy and logic in Islamic philosophy.Alatas, Syed Farid, "From Ja¯mi`ah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue", Current Sociology 54 (1): 112-32
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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.
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 does not admit students who are not practicing Islam,[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] The library is a center of attraction[citation needed] to researchers, students and other Islamic universities. The library does not collect non-Islamic literature.[citation needed]
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[citation needed]. This is a joint venture between the university and the HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum IT Education Project (ITEP) in Dubai.[citation needed] The archive intends to eventually give access to all 42,000 manuscripts (c. 7 million pages) in Al Azhar library.
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.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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."The Grand Imams of Al-Azhar. Retrieved on 2006-06-24..
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 do not 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 do not become enemies of Islam").
In that last perspective, note may be taken of the great quantity of alumni from that university who have filled the most prominent (and countless lesser) ranks in fundamentalist Islamic movements - starting with 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, to "promote Islamic values".[citation needed] Sheikh Ahmed Yassin founder of Hamas was also an alumnus.
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 publicationallheadlinenews.com aljazeera.net(Arabic Online). It is believed that this is not 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.International Herald Tribune.
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