al-Azhar Mosque

al-Azhar Mosque from Shâri` al-Azhar, Cairo, July 21, 1994

al-Azhar was founded by the Fâtimid caliphs in 969 to be the main congregational mosque of their new city, al-Qâhira. The Mosque soon became a center of Ismâ`îlî Shî`î theology, but became a center of Sunnî learning after Salâh al-Dîn overthrew the Fâtimids. al-Azhar is one of the main authorities in Sunnî Islâm today, and the university which grew out of it is the oldest university in the world.