The University of al-Karaouine was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 with an associated school, or madrasa, which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historic Muslim world. It was incorporated into Morocco’s modern state university system in 1963. It is the oldest existing and continually operating educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records and is sometimes referred to as the oldest university, although some scholars dispute whether the term can be properly applied historically to institutions outside the European model.
According to UNESCO and a number of other sources, Al-Karaouine is considered to have been a university since its founding and therefore that it is the oldest university in the world. According to Yahya Pallavicini, the university model did not spread in Europe until the 12th century, and was found throughout the Muslim world from the founding of al-Karaouine in the 9th century until at least European colonialism.
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