The University of al-Qarawiyyin, also written Al Quaraouiyine or Al-Karaouine (Arabic: جامعة القرويين; Berber: ⵜⵉⵎⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵏ ⵍⵇⴰⵕⴰⵡⵉⵢⵢⵉⵏ; French: Université Al Quaraouiyine), is a university located in Fez, Morocco. It is the oldest existing, continually operating and the first degree-awarding educational institution in the world according to UNESCO and Guinness World Records[5][6] and is sometimes referred to as the oldest university.[7] It was founded by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 with an associated madrasa, which subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the historicMuslim world. It was incorporated into Morocco's modern state university system in 1963.