I wish I had known at the time that the person credited for founding the oldest existing, first degree-awarding educational institution in the world, the University of Al Quaraouiyine in Fes, Morocco, in the year 859, was a Muslim woman. Alas, I did not know about the founder Fatima Al-Fihri and so, although I walked away from the table with the last word, I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the exchange had rattled me.
