Islamist University Students In Egypt Shut Down TV Production Because Of "Indecent" Attire

Islamist college students were actually able to shut down production on a TV series based on a novel about student union activism in Egypt in the early 1970s!  The novel "Zat" was written by Sonallah Ibrahim and

 focuses on the sit-in staged by Faculty of Engineering students in 1972 and the demonstrations they led in Tahrir Square.

Why were  students at Aim Shams University in Cairo so outraged?  They took offense to the "indecent" tight costumes the actresses were wearing. Of course, it didn't matter to them that this was simply a representation of the times.  And even though the production company had a 6 month permit to shoot on campus, the dean of of the Faculty of Engineering told the director Kamla Abu Zikri that they had to leave.

No-one involved with the production is happy about what they call a major violation of  'freedom of expression'.

Gabi Khouri, the producer has called out the university for pandering to the Islamist students. He said,

“By being passive towards the students’ action even though we were granted permission to shoot, the university is contributing to this clampdown on art and this kind of thuggery that has been prevalent since the revolution."

Apparently, Egypt recently created  an organization- the Egyptian Creativity Front-

which aims at protecting the rights of artists and freedom on artistic expression, as well as all art-related syndicates.

The production company has appealed to the ECF to ensure that this kind of situation is not duplicated, but in the meantime, they are scouting new locations.

The university was wrong to allow a few rabble-rousers to dictate how they run their establishment. Appeasing the Islamists will only serve to empower them.