ALMATY -- A Muslim body in Kazakhstan says an Islamic university in Almaty should drop the name of Egypt's president from its title, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.
The proposal by the Union of Muslims of Kazakhstan, an NGO seen as close to the government, came in an open letter today to President Nursultan Nazarbaev and the Kazakh government.
The authors say Hosni Mubarak's name should be dropped from the name of Almaty's Nur-Mubarak Egyptian University of Islamic Culture.
The letter's authors -- who include the Almaty-based Muslim Committee for Human Rights in Central Asia -- urge Kazakh authorities to do their best to help defuse the tense situation in Cairo.
They called on Nazarbaev "to use your personal authority and the authority of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which Kazakhstan is expected to chair, to persuade Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to prevent further deepening of the crisis that could turn into a civil war."
The letter also states that "if millions of citizens demonstrate their loathing for their leader, it becomes impossible for that leader to remain in power."
The Union's press service informed journalists that a similar letter has been sent to the administration of the Nur-Mubarak Institute.
Thousands of protesters in Egypt have been demonstrating in Cairo for 10 days, demanding the resignation of long-time President Hosni Mubarak.
Read in Russian here
The proposal by the Union of Muslims of Kazakhstan, an NGO seen as close to the government, came in an open letter today to President Nursultan Nazarbaev and the Kazakh government.
The authors say Hosni Mubarak's name should be dropped from the name of Almaty's Nur-Mubarak Egyptian University of Islamic Culture.
The letter's authors -- who include the Almaty-based Muslim Committee for Human Rights in Central Asia -- urge Kazakh authorities to do their best to help defuse the tense situation in Cairo.
They called on Nazarbaev "to use your personal authority and the authority of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which Kazakhstan is expected to chair, to persuade Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to prevent further deepening of the crisis that could turn into a civil war."
The letter also states that "if millions of citizens demonstrate their loathing for their leader, it becomes impossible for that leader to remain in power."
The Union's press service informed journalists that a similar letter has been sent to the administration of the Nur-Mubarak Institute.
Thousands of protesters in Egypt have been demonstrating in Cairo for 10 days, demanding the resignation of long-time President Hosni Mubarak.
Read in Russian here