University education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia began with a small initiative in Makkah Al-Mukarramah in 1949, with the establishment of the College of Sharia, which initially had a limited educational scope focused on Islamic jurisprudence. The college (which later became one of the colleges of Umm Al-Qura University ) was founded by a Royal Decree from Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud , introducing a modern form of higher education in Islamic studies alongside traditional l...