University of Ez-Zitouna
Encyclopedia
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
. It is claimed to be the oldest teaching establishment in the Arab World, since the Ez-Zitouna madrassa was founded in 737 C.E. (120 A.H) as the teaching arm of the Olive-Tree Mosque (Djemaa ez-Zitouna) and has been in continuous existence since then.
Famous alumni include the scholar Abdul-Rahman Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
, the encyclopedaist Ahmad Ibn Youssef Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abubaker Tifashi, the trade unionist and writer Tahar Haddad
Tahar Haddad
Tahar Haddad was a Tunisian author, scholar and reformer.Haddad, was born in Tunis to a family of shopkeepers and attended the Great Mosque of Zitounia from 1911 until his graduation in 1920. He became a notary; he left this career to become a member of the Al-Destour, a political party...
, the politician and writer Abdelaziz Thâalbi
Abdelaziz Thâalbi
Abdelaziz Thâalbi , born on 5 September 1876 in Tunis, and deceased on October 1, 1944 in Tunis, was a Tunisian politician. He was one of the founding members of Destour.- References :**...
, the Tunisian national poet Aboul-Qacem Echebbi
Aboul-Qacem Echebbi
Abou-Al-kacem El-chebbi was a Tunisian poet. He is probably best known for writing the final two verses of the current National Anthem of Tunisia, Humat al-Hima , that was written originally by the Egyptian poet Mustafa Sadik el-Rafii.Echebbi was born in Tozeur, Tunisia, on 24 February 1909, the...
, and the judge and scholar M.T Ben Achour.
Following Tunisia’s Independence, the modern Zitouna University was established on April 26, 1956. This was succeeded by the Zitouna Faculty of Shari’a and Theology on March 1 1961 which became one of the components of Tunisian University.
Academics
The present-day institution has some 1200 students and 90 faculty, divided between two associated institutes — the Higher Institute of Theology and the Higher Institute of Islamic Civilisation in Tunis — and a research institution: the Center of Islamic Studies (مركز الدراسات الإسلامية بالقيروان) in KairouanKairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
.
Lessons in the Higher Institute of Theology began in the academic year 1988/89. It awards:
- Bachelor degree in Shari'a and Islamic thought in Islamic Sciences
- Master in Islamic Sciences
- Ph.D. in Islamic Sciences
- Superior Technician in Applied Multimedia on Islamic Arts
- Superior Technician in Arts of Islamic Heritage
The Higher Institute of Islamic Civilisation has some 300 students and 40 researchers. It awards
- National diploma of the first cycle in Islamic studies (D.E.U.P.C)
- National diploma of Masters in the Islamic studies