Leaders and builders · c. 800–c. 880
Fatima al-Fihri, famous Muslim of the 9th century
The woman credited with founding the al-Qarawiyyin mosque in Fez, later a university.
The life of Fatima al-Fihri
Fatima al-Fihri is remembered as a woman from Kairouan, in today’s Tunisia, whose family settled in Fez. Using the wealth she inherited, she is credited with founding the al-Qarawiyyin mosque there in 857 or 859.
The mosque grew into a centre of learning, and in 1963 it became the University of al-Qarawiyyin, often called the oldest still-running university. Her story was first written down centuries after her death, so historians debate its details.
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