Scenes of Egyptian education officials holding the national flag while watching a pile of books burn in a schoolyard in Faisal district in Giza last week have been circulating through social media.

Burning books as a natural act against ‘terrorism’, or justifying such practices under the pretext that these books are non-compliant with the ideology of ‘moderate Islam’ – according to statements made the Education Department of the Education Ministry – is shocking enough. Especially troubling is that this happened at the school I attended for ten years.

Scenes of Egyptian education officials holding the national flag while watching a pile of books burn in a schoolyard in Faisal district in Giza last week have been circulating through social media.

Burning books as a natural act against ‘terrorism’, or justifying such practices under the pretext that these books are non-compliant with the ideology of ‘moderate Islam’ – according to statements made the Education Department of the Education Ministry – is shocking enough. Especially troubling is that this happened at the school I attended for ten years.

Since March 2014, Fadl el Haditha School has become subject to the Education Ministry’s ‘30 June panel,’ which was established to ban the activities of any association that: branches from the Brotherhood, was founded by Brotherhood funds or receives any form of support from the Brotherhood. The panel was established by the government committee tasked with confiscating funds and assets of the Muslim Brotherhood.

I searched for clues that would link the environment of the school to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, but I found nothing. I cannot recall any political activity at our school—it was basically sports and scouting. My former school colleagues were just as perplexed as I was, and no one was able to connect the activities of the school to the Muslim Brotherhood. Besides, it was uncommon to declare one’s political orientation in the late 1980s and 1990s, especially those of Islamic tendencies.

In an attempt to clarify the situation, the school owners published an apology to the students and their parents on their Facebook. The statement held the Executive Director of the school, appointed by the Education Ministry, fully responsible for the incident. The report of the inventory committee of Fadl el Haditha’s library, published on the school’s Facebook page, revealed the disposal of 66 books, in March 2015, which “Violate the educational standards and are not enlisted within the approved ministerial curricula.” Hence, the committee, according to its inventory report, decided to seal them in a box, but the issue suddenly escalated into the burning scene.

The repeated and intensive presence of the Egyptian flag in the books torching photos is intended to deliver a message, but unless the message is intended to have an educational content, it has been a disaster. Nevertheless, what kind of educational message is intended by connecting the presence of the Egyptian flag with such a hysterical scene?

The burnt books included ‘Islam and Statecraft’ by Ali Abdel Razek, ‘The Enemy of Islam’ by Jalal Dewedar, ‘Pens in the Enlightenment Parade’ by the late Abdelaal Hamamsi and ‘Political Men’ by Samir Ragab, who was known for his support for Hosni Mubarak—the book even had a portrait of the former president on the cover of its first edition.

Certainly, it is not acceptable to burn any book, but a controversial book such as ‘Islam and Statecraft,’ published in 1925, could not be classified as an Islamic book or be considered promoting terrorism, especially since it criticizes the Islamic Caliphate’s concept and considers it a political matter that has no relevance to religion.

This torching of books reveals the existence of a state of creating enemies even if they were mere ink on paper. It is evidence to the existence of people, even education officials, who believe that books represent an enemy to the country and hence they shall be burnt, regardless of the serious consequences of such an absurd practice. In an attempt to prevent book burning, the committee in charge of confiscating and managing the Brotherhood funds called on the 30 June Schools panel to prevent the torching of any books of “suspicious scientific or cultural context” and in case such books are found, “They should be seized and the education ministry should be notified of their existence.”

Winning a court ruling last March to end government oversight of ‘Fadl’ School and allow its owner to manage its affairs may explain the ridiculous scene that took place inside the schoolyard as a final foolish attempt to preserve the status quo, regardless of the frightening messages behind the torching of books by education officials who have a false national attitude.