Book Review-Madrasas and the Making of Islamic Womanhood by Hem Borker

Islamic education is strongly rooted in scholarship and scientific advancement. The madrasa system of schooling’s long legacy of learning spans Muslim rule and civilization. Muslim women have been active in such Islamic education for centuries. For example, the University of Al-Qarawiyyīn in Fez, Morocco offers a unique existing and still operating model where religiosity, gender and education juxtapose to produce a great scholarly hub—from which the oldest documented medical degree award (ijāza fī al-ṭibb) in the world was granted in 1207CE. (Fourtassi et al. 2020). This university, designated by UNESCO (2020) as “the oldest university in the world”, was established with an associated madrasa by an educated Muslim woman, Fatima al-Fihrī, in 859 CE. It is documented that madrasas known as ‘Dār al-Faqīha’ [House of the Female Jurist] were led by women who had privileged access to the University of Al-Qarawiyyīn during its peak scholarship (Ahmed 2016).