Talk:University of al-Qarawiyyin

Languages
An IP editor randomly added Tamazight and French to the "languages" parameter in the infobox a while ago, but I'm wondering if this is true? Does the university teach in anything other than Standard Arabic? I feel like I may have read that it started offering some courses in Tamazight a while ago but I don't know where to verify this. I'm skeptical that it teaches in French. Anyone know? (The official website isn't much use so far but I might not be looking in the right place.) R Prazeres (talk) 03:46, 23 February 2022 (UTC)

The oldest is in Tunisia.
The oldest is in Tunisia. Called Al Zaytoonah University and was established in 737 AD while the one in Moroccois almost seventy years after. 2607:9880:4188:4:6527:DB0F:4411:55CB (talk) 22:09, 26 January 2023 (UTC)

NOT the oldest
Nalanda, operating from 427 until 1197 CE, in India is the oldest university. 2601:8C3:857E:9EC0:D563:C1D3:ACCE:9284 (talk) 18:31, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

UNESCO source changes
The UNESP source used to say: "Founded in the 9th century and home to the oldest university in the world, Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries..." Now it only says : "Founded in the 9th century, Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries..." Should the citation be changed to the old version or removed? fgnievinski (talk) 04:09, 13 February 2023 (UTC)

Here's another UNESCO source making a similar claim: So, should the citation be updated, removed, or replaced? fgnievinski (talk) 04:22, 13 February 2023 (UTC)


 * Yeah, that omission stands out, though it's unclear if that's supposed to signify some official shift in view on UNESCO's part? By browsing through the Wayback Machine's archived versions of the page (assuming that's an accurate indicator), it seems that wording was removed between 19 and 23 March 2022 (this is the first archived version where it's gone). I wonder if we can find any news, events, or documents from UNESCO around that time which might have something to say about it?
 * The World Heritage Site page was the obvious source to cite, but the attribution of this position to UNESCO can be found in many other published sources up to last year . It's too soon to expect any shift in UNESCO's position since 2022 to be reflected in new publications of course, but if helpful we could cite some of those instead (or the old version of the UNESCO page) strictly for verifiability purposes in the meantime, until we find some relevant new statement from UNESCO or another source commenting on it. R Prazeres (talk) 05:51, 13 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you for the input. Did you find any other source authored by UNESCO making that similar statement? fgnievinski (talk) 00:44, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
 * No, but I haven't really looked. I've got too much else on my plate this week. If anyone wants to look, I think most UNESCO publications should be searchable online here. R Prazeres (talk) 03:21, 14 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Actually, from a quick search now, this may be relevant: the current director-general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, acknowledged this view directly in 2017 (, see second page; incidentally, it refers back to the WHS entry). It's also found in past works published by UNESCO, though not authored by UNESCO, like Gaudio Attilio's book on Fez from 1982 (probably published on the occasion of Fez's inscription on the World Heritage list). But again, I don't think we'll find anything since 2022 yet. R Prazeres (talk) 03:57, 14 February 2023 (UTC)

I am confused
Why is the name also written in Berber? What is the relationship? 109.107.225.149 (talk) 13:33, 25 November 2023 (UTC)
 * See Languages of Morocco. Jonathan A Jones (talk) 13:24, 26 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I know Morocco, its first language is Arabic and the official language is Arabic. The Berbers were added a short time ago due to the insistence of the Berbers, but this does not mean putting it in an article about what the Arabs built in the era of Arab civilization This is evident from the style of architecture . The fact that it became one of the official languages ​​a short time ago does not justify writing the name in a barbaric manner either 109.107.225.149 (talk) 15:29, 26 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Please read WP:SOAPBOX. This commentary is not constructive for improving the article. R Prazeres (talk) 17:34, 26 November 2023 (UTC)