- December 19, 2006
- 3 minutes read
Cairo Univ. teaching club demands Azhar professors released

The Cairo University teaching club expressed its deep concern over the latest security crackdown against six teaching staff members in Egyptian universities, on charge of inciting students in Al-Azhar University to perform a showoff of muscles- wrongly believed to be aiming at intimidating university students and professors- in protest at dismissing students elected in the free students union.
The statement- of which a copy was obtained by Ikhwanweb- said that:” Whatever injustice laid on the students, they shouldn’t have been driven to such actions that cause ambiguity over their peaceful expression, something that may affect the rightness of their cause”, pointing out- at the same time- that the security services and some biased media seized this opportunity and exaggerated the mistake for which the students apologized in front of the university administration.
The teaching staff members rejected arresting some university professors with claims or without any claim, ” although they are well-known for their efficiency and respect in various local, regional and international arenas”, considering this ” an episode in a series which has been adopted during more than two years, without any indication these unjust policies will end”.
The statement denounced accusing professors of violence or terrorism ” in a way that disagrees with the what these colleagues are known for, including good manners, self-restraint and an interest in keeping the stability of the university life and keeping away from any thing that may distort its image and derail it from its sublime message of preparing a generation of young men who can be shouldered with the responsibilities of improving this nation and saving it from the abyss of backwardness and subordination”.
The statement cited Dr. Mahmoud Abu Zeid ” who is known among all of his sincerity and dedication to serve his faculty and university: in addition to his being a remarkable professor in his field, he supervises for a long time a number of programs in the Faculty of Medicine, that aim at improving the quality of education inside it, and adopting its academic programs in the various arenas”.
The board of directors of the Cairo University teaching club declared its rejecting such a futile method in dealing with Egyptian well-reputed figures: it demanded immediately releasing the university professors as there is no excuse for the provisional detention because they are public academic and societal figures whose jobs and addresses are known, and they aren’t feared to flee appearing in front of investigators in the times that the prosecution defines; thus, it is useless to restrict their freedom and deprive their students from their knowledge and directions, specially while the university is approaching the first term exams.
The teaching club demanded also the security services to stop such repressive practices ” that keeps our beloved homeland in within a circle of cultural backwardness, while all the world is witnessing increasing freedoms and human rights”.