Questions raised over why January 25 murals removed at AUC

All murals celebrating the January 25 revolution at the American University in Cairo (AUC) have been removed, according to a Twitter post by Journalism Professor Kim Fox.

Well, look what I discovered today on the @AUC campus: ALL of the #Jan25 photo murals have been removed!

And on the first day for the new president; #AUC’s 13th prez and the first Arab.

And in the year of the 10th anniv. of the revolution. 🤔

The erasure is real. Sad. 👎🏾 pic.twitter.com/7jgWpMKNl5

— Kim Fox, 🎧 The Podcast Professor (@KimFoxWOSU) October 17, 2021

The murals have been on the campus since the 2011 uprising. Their removal follows vandalism against a January 25 photo exhibition in the AUC.

In an official response the AUC said on Twitter that they had been removed for maintenance purposes and would be reinstalled later in the week.

@KimFoxWOSU For clarification, the murals were removed for maintenance purposes. The wooden frames are being repaired and painted and they will be reinstalled again this week. Don’t worry Kim, they’ll be back soon!

— AUC (@AUC) October 17, 2021

Following the revolution a decade ago, activists graffitied the walls of downtown Cairo in memory of the protests that toppled long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak.

READ: Italy suspends trial of Egypt officers charged with torture, murder of student

The artwork served to represent the revolutionaries’ version of history, contrary to what was happening in the state-run media and what was being promoted as the official narrative.

However, authorities painted over the graffiti and installed CCTV cameras.

Many graffiti artists were arrested under the Protest Law whilst others, including Ganzeer, left the country.

Last year, Egyptian authorities authorised an upgrade of Tahrir Square, the centre of the revolution, and revolutionaries accused them of attempting to erase history and their struggle for democracy.

The government was also accused of rewriting history when it constructed a memorial to honour police and soldiers near Rabaa Square, even though many revolutionaries had died at the hands of the police.