The Dean of Egyptian Mosques:
Al-Azhar (970)

July 5, 2006

The striking thing about al-Azhar is the fact that it is a working mosque. I have visited plenty of mosques here in Cairo that are open.. but their walls echo with inactivity. When I visit a madrasa where over 150 students lived, I must imagine the bustle in the stone corridors. At al-Azhar a look into the side rooms is apt to reveal a study group. According to Doris Behrens-Abouseif, this scholarly activity became centered at al-Azhar after the Ottomans:

After the Ottoman conquest, when the Mamluk colleges (madrasa) wherein decline, al-Azhar became the center of Islamic scholarship in Egypt and one of the principal theological universities in the Muslim world. [58]

I conclude from this that the madrasas in Cairo once functioned like al-Azhar.. and that what was once a rather diverse group of colleges became focused in a single institution. Those old madrasas were left to decay, but al-Azhar continued to attract patronage at the highest levels.

Its long and active history make al-Azhar a difficult building to grasp. That magnificent entrance, with the palm and cypress trees and the double arches, was added in Ottoman times (by Katkhuda who built the sabil previously mentioned in a blog). Al-Azhar began with a single brick minaret, but that gave way to another in the 13th century.. which gave way to another in the 14th century.. which gave way to another in the 15th century. Of the three that now stand, two were built by the Sultan Qaytbay in the 15th century (the "golden age of stone carving" (61)), and the third by Sultan al-Ghuri in the 16th century.

There are a few dazzling examples of the original Fatimid designs. These are mostly delicate stucco patterns and inscriptions.

I should note, however, that al-Azhar is a terrible place in which to get fixated on "original" details. It should be approached (at least by a secular visitor) as a gallery of styles and designs. Above all one should not forget that this is a living mosque.. one of the centers of worldwide Islam.

The courtyard is paved with a gleaming marble. The facade of the walls facing the courtyard are impeccably kept up. The columns and their capitals were taken from pre-Islamic classical or Christian sites.

In the far corner of the above picture one can see bright orange drink dispensers. At one time water was brought up from underground cisterns by water-wheels (62).. but these have evidently been replaced by the plastic dispensers. My regret on leaving al-Azhar is that I did not take more pictures of such everyday types of things.. the signs listing classes, the books, etc.. all the ephemera.

One thing I can never emphasize too much is the relaxed feeling that comes with entering a mosque. Students sit around talking. One man lays back and takes a nap. It is open space: do what you want.

It is here that thousands of Muslims gather on Friday to hear a sermon.. and the mosque is packed. That is one sight I would love to witness, and it says something about contemporary Islam that it is too dicey for a westerner to do. There is a lot of "blowing off steam" that goes on here.. anger and discontent. It is not rare to read about small riots after the Friday sermon. But one could hardly guess that on a day like today (a Wednesday).

I have begun to read the second part of Taha Hussein's autobiography, Stream of Days. In it he describes his own experience as a youth at al-Azhar.. and this was back when Islamic education was the only game in town..

The boy paced on with his companion until he had crossed the court and mounted the shallow step which is the threshold of the Azhar itself. His heart was all modesty and humility, but his soul was filled with glory and pride. His feet stepped lightly over the worn-out mats that were laid out across the floor, leaving a bare patch here and there, as if on purpose to touch the feet which passed over them with something of the benediction attached to that holy ground. The boy used to love the Azhar at this moment, when worshippers were finishing their early-morning prayer and going away with the marks of drowsiness still in their eyes, to make a circle round some column or other and wait for the teacher who was to give a lecture on tradition or exegesis, first principles or theology. [116]

Hussein lived close by to al-Azhar and he describes the sounds and smells (he was blind) of his world in these years. At the center of that world was al-Azhar..

Today there is no lack for women sitting alongside the courtyard of al-Azhar. They make up their own circle and are obviously involved in religious study. I plied our guide with questions about whether women can take part in the prayers here.. and the answer was no. It would be too distracting for men to have women present. They would not be thinking about God but about women. I continue to find it odd that women are the ones who must bear the brunt of men's problems.. i.e. if it would distract a man, then a women cannot be present. Why not tell the man: if you cannot pray with women here, then stay home and pray! That seems every bit as logical of an answer.

But still, there are obviously many women who are part of the al-Azhar community. My guess is that women are more visibly present than in times past. There appear to be make-shift ways to allow this to happen.. such as screens and special rooms for women.

The exterior of al-Azhar is also striking. The walls have a prominent striped design, lending a certain stateliness to the building. In old picture of Islamic Cairo, such as those by David Roberts, images of al-Azhar abound. The urban context for al-Azhar has shifted greatly with the introduction of an elevated expressway that takes one from downtown Cairo to al-Azhar/Khan al-Kalili. Instead of being surrounded on all sides by real neighborhoods, the mosque has a small freeway running past it.. and to get to the other side, to the Khan al-Kalili, one must use the pedestrian tunnel.

There is a religious market right next to al-Azhar.. where one can get, besides books and tapes, the following decorative items: