al-Azhar

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | 700+ words | Copyright

al-Azhar (Arab., ‘the most resplendent’). One of the principal mosques in Cairo, also a centre of learning and later a university. It was founded in 969 CE by the Fāṭimid rulers of Egypt. Since they were Ismaʿīlī, al-Azhar was (for two centuries) a centre for Ismaʿīlī teaching, until the Ayyubids under Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn (Saladin) deposed the Fāṭimid dynasty in the late 12th cent. In the 1950s, and especially in the reform of 1961, further expansion added facilities for a much wider range of studies (including sciences, languages, and business studies) and in the 1970s a section for women was opened. Al-Azhar remains to this day one of the leading and most influential universities in the Islamic world.

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JOHN BOWKER. "al-Azhar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN BOWKER. "al-Azhar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-alAzhar.html

JOHN BOWKER. "al-Azhar." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-alAzhar.html

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