Women in Germany have had the right to vote for 105 years, they have been allowed to open their own bank accounts for 42 years, rape in marriage has been prohibited for 26 years and four years ago the principle “No means no” against sexual harassment was included in the penal code recorded. Progress? no What sounds progressive is actually a veritable small denominator in a centuries-long struggle. March 8th was International Women’s Day, or rather Feminist Day of Struggle – and women all over the world still have to fight for their equality and recognition. Gender pay gap, female poverty in old age as well as sexual harassment and abuse are still part of everyday life for most women. And that in 2023!
Instead of giving in to anger and frustration, the author of this text would instead like to use the month and the time after the sign of women to call attention to all the pioneering women who changed the world – and yet often do not appear in history books. Welcome to the ME section “FLINTA*, whose art changed the world”. You’ve never heard of FLINTA*? No worries: The term is relatively new and refers to all people read as female who are discriminated against in patriarchy – thus not only heterosexual cis women are included, but also homo- or bisexual, intersex and non-binary women, as well as trans and agender people .
Portrait: Fatima al-Fihri – the founder of the oldest university in the world that is still teaching
Since this section is actually intended to introduce women who appear little or not at all in history books, a change of perspective has to take place at this point: Fatima al-Fihri is very famous. However, not in Germany. The legendary founder of the very first university in the world is considered a kind of saint in Morocco, and in Tunisia a prize was even created in her honor, which honors initiatives that support women in career choice and training. In this country, however, Fatima al-Fihri is hardly known to anyone, not even the Al-Qarawiyyin University she founded is really well known here. Numerous religious and philosophical greats have graduated from this educational institution – including Pope Sylvester II, who brought his knowledge of Arabic numerals to Europe and thus established the number system that we refer to today. Time, then, to take a closer look at the story of Fatima al-Fihri, which was first recorded between the years 1310 and 1320 by Ibn Abi Zar’ in the work “The Garden of Pages” (Rawd al-Qirtas). To this day, there is still speculation about how reliable the historian actually was as a source – so her life story has not been definitively proven to this day.
Despite her poor circumstances, al-Fihri receives a good education
Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriyya Al-Qurashiya, called Fatima al-Fihri, was born around the year 800 AD in Kairouan in present-day Tunisia. She is the daughter of Mohammed Bnou Abdullah al-Fihri and grew up with modest means. Al-Fihri’s parents are very devout, religious Muslims who attach great importance to their children’s intellectual education. Despite the poor conditions in which they live, Fatima and her sister Maryam enjoy a good education. According to legend, the family migrated to Fes in Morocco around 824 AD, where Fatima’s father, through hard work and ambition, developed into a successful merchant. The expulsion of Arabs, which was taking place in Tunisia and Cordoba, southern Spain at the time, is often cited as the reason for the family’s migration. Under the rule of Idris II, Fès developed into one of the most important centers of Arabic culture in North Africa due to the strong migration wave of Arabs: At the time, the city was considered the metropolis of the “Muslim West” and boasted a cosmopolitan mix of tradition and modernity. There, in the third largest city in Morocco, Fatima al-Fihri settles down with her family – and eventually gets married.
But shortly after the wedding with a man (unfortunately unknown to the historians) the misfortune announces itself: within a very short time al-Fihri’s father, brother and husband die in quick succession – and Fatima and her sister Maryam inherit a considerable sum, which ensures their financial independence. The great sadness is quickly followed by the question of what to do with this legacy. Both Fatima and Maryam are educated women – having been educated in Islamic jurisprudence Fiqh and the writings of the Prophet Muhammad, they are very aware of the importance of education and knowledge. At the same time, they notice the high number of Muslim immigrants – to whom they themselves belong – who, however, do not have enough places to pray and study due to a lack of resources. For these reasons, the sisters decide to do something for the religious community and the city: with their father’s tremendous legacy, they build two mosques in Fès – Fatima founds Al-Qarawiyyin, named after the immigrants from her hometown of Kairouan, and Maryam Al-Andalus, named after the settlers from Andalusia.
The story of Al-Qarawiyyin suggests that women in Islam’s heyday were better educated than is commonly known
That a Muslim woman in the 9th century had the opportunity at all to build a mosque or learn a form of law may come as a surprise at first – especially given the fact that Moroccan women only got the right to vote in 1963 and have only been able to have custody of their children after a divorce since 2004. However, journalist Ann Bayliss writes that the founding history of Al-Qarawiyyin suggests that women in Islam’s heyday were perhaps better educated and more powerful than is commonly known.
She cites two reasons for this: Firstly, a hadith (the traditions of the Prophet Mohammed, editor’s note) already says: “Acquiring knowledge is a duty for every Muslim, whether man or woman”, and secondly, there is Evidence that, at least in Tunisia, girls were also allowed to go to school at the time. For example, the Arab jurist and judge Ibn Sahnun – who lived from 817 to 870 AD – also mentions girls in his handbook for teachers’ codes of conduct.
Shortly after acquiring suitable land, Fatima al-Fihri begins construction of the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque at the beginning of the month of Ramadan in AD 859. This is also the officially recognized founding date of Al-Qarawiyyin University, which has been recognized by UNESCO and Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest still active university. For two years, Fatima al-Fihri invested more and more time and money in expanding her madrasa; ie a school where Islamic Studies are taught. According to several historical sources, Fatima al-Fihri was involved in the construction process of the mosque down to the smallest detail and acquired more and more land to expand her educational facility. In addition, she is said to have insisted on generating the resources for the construction from her own property so as not to take them away from the city and its residents. For example, historian Hassan Hosni Abdelwahab writes: “She pledged to use only the land she had bought… to avoid appearing extravagant for using too many resources.”
Al-Fihri is said to have fasted continuously from the first day of construction to the completion of the school
Adjacent to the mosque, the Al-Qarawiyyin Library is also being built – probably the oldest library in the world, which houses some of the most valuable and important manuscripts and documents of Islam. According to some historians, al-Fihri is said to have fasted continuously from the first day of construction until the completion of the educational center so that the construction project could be successfully completed. During her life, al-Fihri was also given the nickname “Mother of the Young”. According to historian Mohammed Yasser Hilali, “this nickname probably derives from her charity and the fact that she took students under her wing.” The gift she gave to the city of Fes and the generations that followed her with the construction of Al-Qarawiyyin will be remembered Fatima al-Fihri probably never found out during her lifetime. She died around the year 878 AD – but this date is not proven, since almost all records about her and her life were destroyed in a fire in the archives of Al-Qarawiyyin in 1323.
Even though it was already a madrasa with an educational character, it was not until the 10th century that Al-Qarawiyyin officially became a ‘university’ and attracted numerous students and scientists. Among the most famous people who graduated from Al-Qarawiyyin University are the Jewish philosopher, jurist and physician Maimonides, who lived from 1135 to 1204, Nicolas Clénard, who was a 16th-century professor at the Christian University of Leuven in Belgium taught and the aforementioned Pope Sylvester II.
To this day, Al-Qarawiyyin has the reputation of having played a crucial role in cultural exchange and knowledge transfer between the Arab and European regions. Fatima al-Fihri has more than earned her place in the history books: She recognized early on how immensely important education is and used her religiosity and innovative strength to lay the foundation for a groundbreaking institution. That the very first university in the world was founded by a Muslim woman is incredible enough. But the fact that almost nobody here knows this is even more unbelievable.
This text first appeared on musikexpress.de in May 2021 and has now been updated.