Istanbul: Turkey's Department of Religious Affairs head Mehmet Gormez has said that Turkey is planning to found a new Islamic university in Istanbul.
[Istanbul already has a university which was established in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed.]
Speaking at a press conference in the Managing Office for Pligrams in Makkah, where he is leading a group of Turkish pilgrims on the Hajj, Gormez said, "We want to found an international Islamic university in Istanbul, and this is an important project for humanity."
"Scholars graduated from universities like this will be a part of solution rather than the source of problem," he added.
Gormez said, "The Department of Religious Affairs established faculties, based on bilateral aggreements, in some countries around the world. We're planning to give education in English, Arabic and Persian languages."
He also said that Turkey is planning to establish the university as a supprtive choice not an alternative to Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.
Istanbul already has a university which was established in 1453 by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed. It was founded as an institution of higher education named the Darülfünûn (House of Multiple Sciences) on July 23, 1846; but the Medrese (Islamic theological school) which was founded immediately after Mehmed II conquered Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 is regarded as the precursor to the Darülfünûn which evolved into Istanbul University in 1933.
The university has seventeen faculties on five campuses; the main campus being on Beyazıt Square, which was originally built by Constantine the Great as the Forum Tauri and was later enlarged by Theodosius the Great as the Forum of Theodosius during the Roman period.
On 21 April 1924, the Republic of Turkey recognized the İstanbul Darülfünûnu as a state school, and on 7 October 1925, the administrative autonomy of İstanbul Darülfünûnu was recognized while the Schools (within the old Medrese system) became modern Faculties.
On 1 August 1933, İstanbul Darülfünûnu was reorganized as İstanbul Üniversitesi (Istanbul University) following the educational reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Classes officially began on 1 November 1933.
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