Al-Azhar threatens to suspend courses amid student protests

After two previous suspensions at the start of the academic year, the authorities at Al-Azhar University are now threatening to shut the university indefinitely. The warning came amid mass student protest against the July 3 coup and the killing of pro-legitimacy supporters.

A statement released by the university called on students to end their demonstrations because Al-Azhar is a place of learning. It stressed that if the learning environment is disrupted the university will be forced to suspend all courses until further notice, presumably when conditions become more stable.

The university was prepared this week to receive 400,000 students in its male and female campuses.