Egyptian security forces stormed al-Azhar University campus on Wednesday to quell student protests against the military-backed government.
It was the first time police forces have moved onto a campus since a 2010 court ruling.Video of the riots:
The interior ministry ordered the police intervention following a request by the administration of the prestigious university, Al Arabiya correspondent reported.
Students supporting ousted President Mohammad Mursi have been holding regular protests on campus, sometimes prompting the suspension of classes.
During Wednesday’s protests students smashed windows, hurled chairs and covered walls of an administrative building with graffiti insulting the military backed interim government and Minister of Defense Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.
“Sissi is a dog. Down, down with the lord of the army,” one protester scribbled, according to Reuters. One police officer yelled: “Arrest anyone you see. Bring me those kids. If you see anyone just arrest them right away.”
Demonstrations at al-Azhar are a sensitive matter as the institution has historically taken the government side.
Islamists appear to have adopted a policy of choosing sensitive sites such as al-Azhar University to display their views instead of taking to the streets in big numbers, Reuters reported.
Al Azhar has been considered the center of "moderate Islam" for a while.
However, many Egyptians are claiming that most of those arrested were not in fact students, but outside Muslim Brotherhood agitators. In fact, one politician compared the Brotherhood infiltrating Al Azhar to Jews "storming the Al Aqsa Mosque." Nothing about Talmudic rituals, though.
Looks like the students disagree.
The rioting is spreading to other universities, like Cairo University, Alexandria U and Mansoura U.