Fatimids ruled Egypt for 200 years (969 -1171) and shaped its identity. They also established the famous al-Azhar University in 970 AD in Cairo as a university, founded in order to spread knowledge throughout the world; the university exists to this day and is one of the oldest universities in the world. Al-Azhar was originally a Shia university.[2][3] However, It is generally accepted that before, during and after the Fatimid rule in Egypt, the people of Egypt were and continued to remain predominantly Sunni,[4][5] with Ismailism being followed by the ruling classes, rather than the general populace.[6]