Zeytune University

Zaytuna University is a prestigious educational institution located in Tunisia with roots extending back to the 8th century. Originally constructed as a mosque, the structure gradually became the center of scholarly activity and acquired university status in the modern era.

Construction of the Zaytuna Mosque (Jami al-Kabir) was initiated in 80 AH / 699 CE by Hasan ibn al-Nu'man and completed in 114 AH / 732 CE by Ibn al-Habhab. The mosque derives its name from a traditional account of an olive tree that stood on the site where it was built. It is the second major mosque constructed in Ifriqiya after the Uqba ibn Nafi Mosque in Kairouan (50 AH).

From its foundation, the mosque functioned both as a place of worship and an educational center, with study circles established to promote the Islamization of the local population and the learning of Arabic. Beginning around 120 AH, instruction took the form of oral lectures delivered by scholars to students seated in a circle around them. Over time, the center of scholarly gravity shifted from Kairouan to Tunis, and Zaytuna became the leading institution of learning in Ifriqiya, replacing the Uqba ibn Nafi Mosque. Starting in the 13th century, students from Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, and al-Andalus began studying at Zaytuna.

Zaytuna Mosque (AA)

Educational Structure During the Ottoman and Colonial Periods

Studies examining the educational history of Tunisia and Algeria identify the Zaytuna-centered madrasa system as one of three main educational streams in the region:

1- French-style schools,

2- “Franco-Arab” schools similar to Sadikiya,

3- The Zaytuna system.

The Zaytuna system, within the classical mosque-madrasa framework, represents a long-standing tradition of education based on the Qur’an, Arabic language, and religious sciences.^【1】 

The classical curriculum of Zaytuna was based on oral and text-centered lectures conducted in study circles around the mosque. Education relied heavily on memorization and the commentaries of scholars. Before the 19th century, this system trained several hundred students for roles as imams, judges, and other religious-legal positions. The core subjects were jurisprudence, hadith, Qur’anic exegesis, Arabic language, and rhetoric. This system served as a reference for the transmission of religious authority and Islamic sciences both in Tunisia and other regions of the Maghreb.^【2】 

Throughout the French protectorate period, Zaytuna continued to exist as a “traditional” yet effective channel of education within a tripartite structure alongside French schools and mixed educational institutions. Despite remaining outside the French educational network, Zaytuna retained its importance as a local center of higher education that preserved Arabic language and Islamic culture for Tunisian Muslims.^【3】 

University Transformation and Modern Reforms

Zaytuna’s process of modern “universitization” was shaped by reform movements in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the late 19th century, reformist circles in Tunisia introduced changes aimed at rationalizing the content and methods of instruction at Zaytuna and its affiliated madrasas. A structured program based on specific textbooks was implemented, along with mandatory attendance and an examination system. Scientific subjects such as arithmetic, geometry, architecture, astronomy, and history-geography were added alongside classical religious sciences.

These changes transformed Zaytuna into a hybrid institution that preserved its traditional mosque-madrasa identity while responding to modern educational demands. At the beginning of the 20th century, Zaytuna became a major center of religious education not only for Tunisian students but also for those from other parts of the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. According to 1942 records, the institution hosted 123 Algerian, one Moroccan, and seven Libyan students, demonstrating its regional appeal.^【4】 

In the pre-independence period, Zaytuna emerged as one of the primary arenas for mobilizing Islamic identity in the anti-colonial struggle. Zaytuna-educated circles from the 1930s played active roles in both Algerian nationalism and the Tunisian independence movement.^【5】 

Post-Independence Period and Restructuring

Following Tunisia’s independence in 1956 under the leadership of Habib Bourguiba, educational reforms fundamentally altered Zaytuna’s institutional status. In April 1956, all traditional madrasas affiliated with the Zaytuna Mosque were incorporated into the national secondary education system, while the “university-mosque” was redefined as a public institution with legal personality under the Ministry of Education. During this process, the institution was transformed into a college offering instruction in two main fields: Arabic language and literature, and legal-religious sciences.^【6】 

In this period, Zaytuna was no longer regarded as a system in its own right but was reduced to a faculty within the modern University of Tunis. Concurrently, the narrowing of employment opportunities for its graduates led to a decline in the institution’s social prestige, prompting qualified students to turn toward modern schools. From the 1950s onward, Zaytuna’s traditional university identity clearly declined.

According to researcher Pouessel, Zaytuna was legally dissolved after independence but was reestablished in 1988 shortly after Zine El Abidine Ben Ali came to power. This reestablishment is viewed as part of the state’s policy of controlled reorientation toward Islamic references. The opening of Zaytuna FM, a religious radio station, in 2007 is interpreted within the same framework.^【7】 

Curriculum and Historical Development

In the classical period, Zaytuna’s curriculum was based on a teaching system conducted in mosque study circles, heavily reliant on memorization. Students studied texts such as the Qur’an, tajwid, theology, jurisprudence, Arabic language and rhetoric, prophetic biography, and ethics under the guidance of scholarly commentaries. Affiliated madrasas provided preparatory education at the secondary level to guide students toward advanced religious instruction.

With the reforms of the 19th century, new subjects were added to the curriculum, integrating a “rationalized teaching of Islamic sciences” with disciplines regarded as “secular.” This transformation aimed to produce an institution that sustained religious authority while also training administrative and technical personnel for a modernizing Tunisian society.

After 1960, Zaytuna was integrated into the national university system and divided into two main faculties: Arabic language and literature, and legal-religious sciences. This development marked the end of the classical “Zaytuna system,” with the mosque-university being transformed into a modern faculty of Islamic sciences within the University of Tunis.

Following its 1988 reestablishment, Zaytuna University created an additional unit in 1995 called the Tunis Institute of Higher Islamic Civilization for foreign students. Here, the majority of students from Francophone and Anglophone Africa follow a program focused on Islam and modern Arabic. In the 2010–2011 academic year, 137 students were enrolled, demonstrating that Zaytuna’s curriculum continues to attract international students and maintain a transnational character.^【8】 

Regional Influence and Current Status

Historically, Zaytuna exerted broad influence on religious and intellectual life in North Africa. Its ability to attract large numbers of students from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa during the first half of the 20th century, particularly Algerian students who played roles in nationalist movements of the 1930s, underscores its regional significance.

Post-independence reforms under Bourguiba weakened Zaytuna’s status, and the institution was at one point described as a “relic of the past.” However, its 1988 reestablishment reintegrated Zaytuna into Tunisia’s higher education system as a state-supervised institution of higher Islamic learning grounded in Islamic references.

From the 1990s onward, the division of labor between Zaytuna University and the Institute of Higher Islamic Civilization has enabled Tunisian students to pursue classical theological education while also allowing students from countries such as Africa, Turkey, Indonesia, and Russia to obtain undergraduate and graduate degrees in Islamic studies and Arabic. Today, Zaytuna University continues to exist as a higher education institution within the modern Tunisian university system, centered on theology and Islamic sciences, with historical roots in the Zaytuna Mosque.

This institution simultaneously represents the continuity of the mosque-madrasa tradition and participates in the national and international mobility of students as part of the national university network. In this regard, it is regarded as a significant case in discussions on the educational history of the Maghreb and alternative models of university development in the Islamic world.

Notable Figures Educated at Zaytuna

The institution has produced numerous scholars, thinkers, and statesmen throughout its history, including the historian and sociologist Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), Hafsid-era scholars Ibn Urfa and Ibn Usfur al-Isbili, and modern figures such as Muhammad al-Tahir ibn Ashur, Muhammad Fazil ibn Ashur, the historian Ibn Abi al-Diyaf, the poet Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi, and the Algerian reformer Abd al-Hamid ibn Badis.^【9】