In Quick Move… Azhar MB Students Apologize

In a quick and correct response to a demand for apology, the Muslim Brotherhood students in Al-Azhar University issued a statement in which they apologized for the negative impact caused by their sportive parade which they described as an acted performance; the students direct their apology to the university professors and students.

Student Sohaib Al Malt, the secretary general of the free student union in Al-Azhar University and one of those dismissed, phoned me and said: ” We offer this apology because we feel that we committed a mistake that offended all those around us: the university, ourselves and our group from whose general trend of renouncing all forms of clashing we have deviated”, and he told me that he announced this statement alive in Gamal Enayet’s TV show “On Air”, and he read it in a phone call on Mona Al Shazli’s TV show “10.00 in the evening”; the students’ quick move to apologize is an indication from their part that the act that they did out of their own marred the image of their group and made it prone to troubles from its enemies.

The Text of Al-Azhar MB Students

We- the Muslim Brotherhood students in Al-Azhar University, offer our apology for the negative image given by the sportive activity which was performed in the middle of the sections of the sit-in held in protest at dismissing eight students for a month from the university for their activities in calling for the elections of the free student union in the university.

We offer this apology first to our university, our professors and our colleagues for our action which marred the image of the university, and consequently marred our image through depicting us as militias, which is contrary to the truth because we are just students.

We say that what made us perform this sketch was our feeling that no one listens to our voice, and no one moves to demand our freedom inside the university.

Seeing that we still have no free will inside the university, and that we are denied our right in exercising any political activity, and that the security services intervene in all student affairs, and the role of the student unions is marginalized and sidelined, the student unions elections are rigged and all serious political and intellectual activities are banned, and the university administration- backed by the security service, denied us the right to run for or even vote in the student union elections, a right guaranteed by the constitution and law, in response to all this, we decided to form a parallel or alternative union to have one voice that represents the university students, bear their problems and demands, and to demand freedom for the university and its institutions.

However, the response of the university administration towards our positive move and demanding our rights, was tough as it dismissed eight of our fellow students for a full month; they are in practical faculties that do not allow absence even for one day, let alone a dismissal for a full month; this was another violation against us, depriving us of education, also a right guaranteed by the constitution which the university administration is violating.

We wanted to attract attention to our problem, but we used a wrong method, thus we have to apologize.

Demanding that you accept our apology for this act, we hold you accountable for the violations that are carried out against our rights and we call you to support us and support our dismissed fellow students; we will be pleased with your instructions and guidance to us in this field.

Muslim Brotherhood students in Al-Azhar University