After the Uyghurs: Why has Egypt launched a crackdown on al-Azhar students from Central Asia?

A new chapter in the ongoing security violations faced by foreign students in Egypt has recently come to light, specifically targeting those studying at al-Azhar University.

In the past few days, Egyptian authorities launched a sudden and extensive security crackdown that swept up dozens of students from Central Asian and Caucasus countries—including Chechens, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Azerbaijanis, and others—who were detained under mysterious and alarming circumstances.

This has raised pressing questions about the motives behind the crackdown, who stands to benefit from turning al-Azhar into a security trap, and why foreign students pursuing knowledge are being hunted in a country that is supposed to be a sanctuary for religious scholarship.

The Reason for the Crackdown

According to a report published by the rights organization “Jewar” on May 13, 2025, the arrests were carried out arbitrarily, involving raids on students’ residences and the seizure of all their electronic devices.

They were also prevented from contacting their families or lawyers, despite residing in Egypt completely legally, the same source confirmed.

Notably, the list of those targeted was not limited to specific nationalities but extended to citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States, from Armenia to Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine.

But the most alarming aspect, according to documentation by Jewar, lies in the political dimension of the campaign, which appears to be part of a strategic alignment between the Egyptian regime and both Moscow and Beijing.

Many of these students are listed on terrorism watchlists in Russia and China—not for any suspected activities within Egypt, but solely because of their opposition to the authoritarian regimes in their home countries.

The organization notes that this is not an isolated incident, but rather a continuation of a pattern that has become entrenched since Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s rise to power through a military coup.

Egypt has effectively become a site for the forced deportation of Central Asian students, in blatant violation of international law and the principle of non-refoulement, putting them at risk of an uncertain fate upon their return to their homelands.

The report concludes that al-Azhar, once a beacon of knowledge and sanctuary for students from around the world, has turned into a security zone where identities, not ideas, are hunted.

If you are Chechen or Uzbek, even if you are simply a student with no political involvement, you face the threat of arrest, disappearance, and possibly forced deportation—to appease Cairo’s allies.

A Severe Blow

The number of foreign students enrolled at al-Azhar University, across both undergraduate and pre-university levels, is estimated at around 76,000, according to data from the Student Care Unit at the Center for the Development of Education for Foreign and International Students in 2025.

Undergraduate students make up the majority, with approximately 40,000 enrolled, reflecting the significant presence of international educational communities within the largest religious institution in the Muslim world.

Omar Hilal, an Islamic preacher and al-Azhar alumnus, expressed deep concern and condemnation over what he described as a “regrettable security campaign” targeting numerous foreign students at the institution, particularly those from Uzbekistan, Chechnya, Kazakhstan, and other Central Asian countries.

In a statement to Al-Estiklal, Omar Hilal said, “The ongoing arrests and crackdowns on students who have come to al-Azhar to seek religious knowledge not only violate the dignity of these young people but also deal a painful blow to the image of this religious institution—and Egypt itself—in the eyes of the Muslim world.”

“It is a mistake to think these students merely come and go. Every foreign al-Azhar student acts as an ambassador for the institution, carrying its message back home to promote values of moderation, compassion, and the tolerant Sharia they learned here in Egypt. This is where the real danger lies.”

“Countries like Indonesia, Chechnya, and Kazakhstan have a special historical and cultural presence within al-Azhar’s halls, due to the large numbers of their students and their communities’ commitment to moderate religious education in Egypt,” Hilal noted.

He also warned against attempts to implicate al-Azhar in these violations, saying, “It is clear that the Egyptian regime is trying to use the religious institution as a cover for security operations that have little to do with actual security concerns and are instead the result of political deals.”

“We must emphasize that al-Azhar and its esteemed Grand Imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb, do not accept these actions, even as they seek to avoid direct confrontation with security agencies, out of respect for the law and the constitution,” Hilal added.

“Under no circumstances—legally, religiously, or customarily—should students be arrested or deported to appease countries like Russia or China, both notorious for their severe violations against Muslims, particularly in Chechnya and East Turkestan.”

He described the current events as “a tragic repetition of the Uyghur ordeal, where students were deported from al-Azhar to China in a disgraceful episode that still haunts the conscience today.”

Hilal emphasized that Egypt has been and must remain a beacon of Islamic scholarship through al-Azhar, adding, “It should never become a platform for political appeasement or deal-making at the expense of Muslim students who carry nothing but their dreams for the future.”

The 2017 Incident

In a strikingly similar incident to current events, on July 5, 2017, one of the most shocking episodes in the security ties between Egypt and China unfolded.

At that time, al-Azhar became the scene of a security crackdown targeting dozens of Uyghur students, in a scenario human rights activists now see being eerily repeated.

Less than a month after a meeting between then-Egyptian Interior Minister Magdy Abdel Ghaffar and China’s Vice Minister of Public Security Chen Ximin, a sudden crisis erupted as Egyptian authorities arrested dozens of Muslim Chinese students from the Uyghur minority studying at al-Azhar.

At the time, the international human rights organisation Human Rights Watch revealed the launch of a widespread crackdown on Uyghur students in Cairo, preparing them for deportation to China — a claim later confirmed by major international media outlets.

Sarah Leah Whitson, then Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, urged Egyptian authorities to end the mass arrests targeting the Uyghur community.

She emphasized that Uyghurs residing in Egypt have the right to live in safety, free from the threat of arbitrary detention or forced deportation to a country where they could face persecution or torture.

At the time, social media circulated footage showing the raids on students’ homes and their arrests, alongside images of them bound inside police vans and detention centres.

According to The New York Times, “At least 12 Chinese nationals were deported and put on a flight to China late Thursday, and 22 more were detained for immediate deportation, three Egyptian aviation officials said.”

Field journalists confirmed that more than 100 students were detained, arrested from their homes, cafes, and even their shops in the Nasr City district—most notably the Istanbul restaurant and a grocery store of the same name, which closed following the raids.

One shopkeeper, who suffered a broken leg during the raid, told the American newspaper that his colleagues were taken to Nasr City police stations before being transferred to Tahrir Complex for final deportation preparations, while other students fled to distant provinces to escape arrest and an uncertain fate.

On July 8, al-Azhar issued a statement widely criticized by human rights activists and observers as "below the gravity of the situation."

The statement claimed that "No Turkistani students were arrested inside the university campus, al-Azhar institutes, the Islamic Missions City, or any affiliated entity."

However, a subsequent statement on July 9 from Cairo-based human rights group al-Shahab estimated that the number of detained Uyghur (Turkistani) students at al-Azhar exceeded 300.

Egyptian security forces reportedly detained around 100 of these students, sparking serious concerns over their potential deportation to China—where they could face severe human rights abuses.

The students belong to the Uyghur Muslim minority, a Turkic ethnic group originally from East Turkestan, officially known in China as Xinjiang.

The region, under Beijing’s control since 1949, has long been the site of a sweeping and systematic crackdown—targeting the religious and cultural identity of Uyghur Muslims—according to international human rights organizations, amid ongoing calls by many in the region for independence.

The Fate of the Uyghur Students

According to Lebanon’s Daraj, “This investigative report details the crackdown and forced deportation of Al Azhar’s Uyghur Muslim students, in a violation of the international laws and covenants, as well as tales of those who were arrested and prohibited from registering as refugees with UNHCR.”

Chinese authorities dispatched investigators to Cairo shortly after the mass arrests of dozens of Uyghur students enrolled at al-Azhar University, signaling an unsettling level of transnational coordination in the crackdown.

According to Daraj, “The Chinese investigators interrogated 10-15 detainees only. They probed them about their political views on China and the ruling Communist Party, and whether or not they were members of the Turkistan Islamic Party, according to Marwan, who cited a source that reported torture during these investigations.”

“The students remained in prison for about 4 months, 25 were forcibly deported to China where they all landed in prison.”

“Two detainees died in jail, and those who are still alive are certainly suffering, according to the deputy director of The Association of East Turkistan Scholars.”  

A representative of the Association of Muslim Scholars of East Turkistan told the outlet that two of those deported had died in Chinese prisons, while the others were said to be enduring conditions described as "extremely harsh."

“Egypt violated international law by deporting individuals who would be liable to human rights violations, according to the article 3 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, signed in 1984.” 

The convention states that “No Contracting State shall expel or return any person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

The Egyptian government has issued no official response to the findings published by Daraj. 

Meanwhile, international human rights groups have called for an independent inquiry into the violations that preceded the deportations—violations that have sparked alarm within human rights and diplomatic circles worldwide.

Security Agreement

Security cooperation between Cairo and Beijing has deepened in recent years, culminating most recently in the signing of a joint protocol on October 31, 2024. 

According to al-Ahram newspaper, the agreement included, for the first time, a provision for the mutual exchange and extradition of wanted individuals between the two countries.

The protocol was signed during an official visit by Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik to Beijing, where he led a high-level security delegation. 

While in the Chinese capital, Tawfik held extended talks with State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong.

According to an official statement issued by Egypt’s Ministry of Interior, the two ministers reviewed avenues of security cooperation between Cairo and Beijing, exploring ways to deepen their partnership in combating terrorism and organized crime. 

The discussions also touched on emerging security challenges amid a shifting global landscape.

During the meeting, the Chinese minister underscored Egypt’s pivotal role in maintaining stability across the Middle East, praising what he described as Cairo’s “security successes” in tackling terrorism and organized criminal networks.

The Chinese minister expressed his country’s eagerness to deepen the exchange of security expertise and activate direct coordination channels to address transnational challenges, including irregular migration, money laundering, and illicit cyber activities.

For his part, Egypt’s Interior Minister reaffirmed Cairo’s commitment to broadening the scope of cooperation with Beijing, describing the relationship between the two capitals as a “firm strategic partnership.”

He noted that his visit was part of ongoing security consultations between the two sides, underscoring the Interior Ministry’s commitment to exchanging expertise and expanding joint training programs.

Alongside intelligence cooperation and efforts to combat organized crime, the talks also covered specific arrangements for the extradition of individuals wanted in criminal cases—part of a broader agreement aimed at modernizing judicial cooperation between the two countries. The development was seen as a significant step forward in bilateral security relations.

During the visit, the Egyptian minister toured several key Chinese security institutions, including the Police University, the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center, and the Center for Handling Security Affairs.

The recently signed protocol is widely seen as the latest chapter in a deepening security alignment between Cairo and Beijing—one that observers believe is likely to expand further in the coming period, despite mounting concerns over shared human rights violations.