17th century Turkish manuscript showing a Madrasa in Istanbul.
Did you know that the Arabic word for mosque is Jami’ and the Arabic for university is Jami’a? A thousand years ago the first universities emerged within mosques where religion and science sat comfortably side by side.
Building on knowledge from Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Chinese and Indian Civilisations, Muslims developed a learning culture where enquiring minds searched for truths based on scientific rigour and experimentation. In almost every field of knowledge, Muslims made new inventions and discoveries with practical outcomes that helped develop society.
Muslim charitable institutions provided the first scholarships to support students.Courses were difficult and medicine was particularly gruelling, and just like in universities today, examinations were long and difficult.
School Zone Highlights
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Explore the unique link between mosques and universities in Islam more than 1000 years ago. As more and more students attended universities, ijazas, or certificates, were awarded to those who graduated. These ijazas could be the origin of the word ‘baccalareus’. Today the International Baccalaureate is a qualification for international students. |
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Learn about advances made by Jabir ibn Hayyan’s research in the field of chemistry. Known in the west as Geber, he is considered to be the founder of chemistry due to his enormous contributions to the field. |
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Discover the origins of the term chairperson or ‘chair’. Over a thousand years ago, Muslim schools and universities had study circles with groups of students gathered around a professor who was seated on a chair or kursi. It is this notion that evolved into a professional position, the chairperson. |
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