Fatima al-Fihri

Fatima al - Fihri († 880 ) 859 founded the Madrasa and later University of al - Qarawiyin in the Moroccan Fez.

Life

Al- Fihri was the daughter of Mohammed al - Fihri, with whom she shared with her sister of Qairawan (now Tunisia) emigrated to Morocco. Already in the year 859 she founded in Fes, the University of al - Qarawiyin, one of the world's first universities that awarded academic degrees. The University grew out of a madrasa, al - Fihri Fatima financed from money her father, a wealthy businessman. The co-initiated by their construction of a mosque encouraged the Tunisian society in Fes. The Kairaouine mosque, named after Fatima al - Fihris hometown, developed into one of the largest in the country.