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Kairouan (UKˌkaɪr(ʊ)ˈwɑːn, USkɛərˈ-), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan (al-Qayrawān æl qɑjrɑˈwæːn, Qeirwān qɪrˈwɛːn), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Umayyads around 670, in the period of Caliph Mu'awiya (reigned 661–680); this is when it became an important centre for Sunni Islamic scholarship and Quranic learning, attracting Muslims from various parts of the world. The Mosque of Uqba is situated in the city. In 2014, the city had about 187,000 inhabitants. The name (ٱلْقَيْرَوَان al-Qayrawān) is an Arabic word meaning "military group" or "caravan", borrowed early on from the Middle Persian word kārawān (modern Persian کاروان kârvân), meaning "military column" (kâr "people/military" + vân "outpost") or "caravan" (see caravanserai). In Berber, the city used to be called تيكيروان Tikirwan, thought to be an adaptation of the Arabic name. It has also been romanized as Cairoan in early modern English. Kairouan, the capital of Kairouan Governorate, lies south of Sousse, from the east coast, from Monastir and from Tunis. The foundation of Kairouan dates to about the year 670 when the Arab general Uqba ibn Nafi of Caliph Mu'awiya selected a site in the middle of a dense forest, then infested with wild beasts and reptiles, as the location of a military post for the conquest of the West. Formerly, the city of Kamounia was located where Kairouan now stands. It had housed a Byzantine garrison before the Arab conquest, and stood far from the sea – safe from the continued attacks of the Berbers who had fiercely resisted the Arab invasion. Berber resistance continued, led first by Kusaila, whose troops killed Uqba at Biskra about fifteen years after the establishment of the military post, and then by a Berber woman called Al-Kahina who was killed and her army defeated in 702. Subsequently, there occurred a mass conversion of the Berbers to Islam. Kharijites or Islamic "outsiders" who formed an egalitarian and puritanical sect appeared and are still present on the island of Djerba.

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