section_path: History/Antecedents
section_name: Antecedents
paragraph_text: Antecedents
  
  An early institution, often called a university, is the Harran University, founded in the late 8th century. Scholars occasionally call the University of al-Qarawiyyin (name given in 1963), founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 CE, a university, although Jacques Verger writes that this is done out of scholarly convenience. Several scholars consider that al-Qarawiyyin was founded and run as a madrasa until after World War II. They date the transformation of the madrasa of al-Qarawiyyin into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963. In the wake of these reforms, al-Qarawiyyin was officially renamed "University of Al Quaraouiyine" two years later.
  
  Some scholars, including George Makdisi, have argued that early medieval universities were influenced by the madrasas in Al-Andalus, the Emirate of Sicily, and the Middle East during the Crusades. Norman Daniel, however, views this argument as overstated. In 2013, Roy Lowe and Yoshihito claimed that the influences of scholarship from the Islamic world on the universities of Western Europe requires a reconsideration of the development of higher education, turning away from a concern with local institutional structures to a broader consideration within a global context.