Middle East News
Feb 19, 2007, 16:23 GMT
Cairo - Hundreds of Cairo University students and staff took to the streets of the Egyptian capital on Monday to protest against Israeli renovation works near the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem.
Israel has begun excavations several dozen metres from the compound as preparation for the construction of a new pedestrian bridge leading up to the elevated compound's Mughrabi Gate.
The bridge is to replace an earthen walkway that collapsed because of snowstorms and a minor earthquake in 2004.
The work however has sparked the anger of many Muslims, who believe it may harm the al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock mosques.
'(The al-Aqsa mosque) will not be destroyed as long as we live,' read some of the flyers and banners held by young demonstrators at Cairo University, as they were cordoned off by hordes of riot police.
The zealous students shouted slogans against 'the breaching' of the Islamic site. Speakers at the two-hour-long demonstration, which included members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, encouraged the youths to show their anger in a peaceful manner.
According to a statement issued by a collective of university professor and staff, the protest was to be 'a step towards awakening the (Islamic) nation, so that it can defend its identity and existence, and claim its pride.'
dpa pa
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/middleeast/news/article_1265613.php/Egyptian_students_protest_Jerusalem_excavations
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment