University of al-Karaouine

The University of al-Karaouine (or al-Qarawiyyin, Arabic: جامعة القرويين) is a university in Fes, Morocco. It was originally founded as a mosque. The mosque was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859. It had a school, or madrasa, that taught students about Islam. This school later became one of the most important centres of learning in the Muslim world. It was made a part of Morocco's modern university system in 1963. It is the longest continually operating school in the world. It is sometimes also called the oldest university References