The Faculty of Medicine (Arabic: كلية الطب‎) of Damascus University was the first university college established in Syria. The first medical school moved to Beirut in 1915 and took up the premises of a Christian medical school there. The building in Damascus was reopened following the Ottoman withdrawal from Syria. College of Medicine is the nucleus of the University of Damascus. It was founded in 1903 when the medical school opened branches in medicine and pharmacy after a bitter struggle and great efforts of the men of the Syrian Arab intellectuals during the Ottoman occupation. Medical school moved from Damascus to Beirut in 1915 and used as its headquarters the Jesuit Medical College during the First World War. It reopened in Damascus after the armistice of 1918 and the withdrawal of the Ottomans from Syria and Lebanon. During the era of Arab government it was called the Arab Medical Institute. The use of Arabic as the medium of instruction was in response to the policy of colonization, which tried to impose French. The founders were convinced that their students would absorb, reflect and express themselves better in their native language.