Al-Azhar University opened a branch campus at the Yayasan Sofa Negeri Sembilan Complex, near Kampung Bukit Sembilan in Malaysia. The establishment of the branch campus outside the Middle East also marked the changing of the Al-Azhar mindset in its history of over 1,000 years since the beginning of its foundation during the reign of the Fatimiyyah dynasty. A representative of the university from Egypt, Dr Umar Abdullah Kamil said that this branch of Al-Azhar would attract thousands of Muslim students from Southeast Asia and enhance Malaysia’s image to the world. “Just like in Cairo, the branch campus will have a mosque and students’ organisation. We have worked hard to make this come true and Alhamdulillah (God willing), we will succeed,” he told reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony for the branch campus. He is confident that due to Malaysia’s image and the Islamic development in this country, students from Indonesia, Thailand and India will prefer to further their studies at Al-Azhar’s Rembau branch.