Al-Azhar Religious Institute of Assuit "King Fouad I Institute" (Assiut)

 university, institute, school, library

Azhar, Religious Institute of Assuit was founded after the visit of King of Egypt Fouad to Assuit where Assuit religious scholars and sheikhs asked His Majesty to have an institute after the pattern of those institutes in Cairo. There was a dire need to have such an institute because of the over-increasing number of students who came to Assiut from the neighboring counties of Upper Egypt. Al-Umawi and Al-Yoosfi mosques, the previous headquarters of the institute, were overcrowded with students and seekers of knowledge at that time. Consequently, the King chose the current location of the institute and issued a Royal Decree of allocating an area of approximately five acres adjacent to the bank of the River Nile to build a religious institute affiliated to Al-Azhar. He laid the foundation stone in 1930 AD.
After four years of construction works, the institute has become ready to receive the students in 1934 AD. Its buildings were designed after Islamic style. It comprises three big buildings:
1- A two-storey building for study including classes, offices, a large auditorium for presenting scientific films and occasions, labs of biology, chemistry and physics. A rectangle-shaped garden centered by an elegantly designed alabaster fountain is located in the heart of the nave of this building.
2- A three-floor building for the accommodation of the students who come from the neighboring cities and governorates. It includes a well-stocked, magnificent library that holds a large collection of thousands of books in religion disciplines, science, humanities, etc.
3- A mosque with a towering minaret where the staff and students offer prayers. It also used to function as the place for training students to deliver sermons and giving them tips on public speaking.
The institute was officially inaugurated during the era of the King Farouk in 1939 AD.