This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Two students expelled from university in Egypt for the “immoral act” of hugging in celebration of their engagement have been reinstated after a viral video of their embrace drew widespread public sympathy.

The universities of Al-Azhar and Mansoura initially told both students they would be thrown out after footage emerged showing the male student kneeling and proposing to the teenage woman before presenting her with a bouquet of flowers. The video, shot on the campus of Mansoura University, then showed the pair embracing, a moment greeted by cheers from their friends.

The couple have not been named, but the man is a freshman at Mansoura University’s faculty of law, while the woman is studying Arabic at Al-Azhar University.

The female student was expelled on 13 January after a disciplinary committee accused her of violating “Azharite values”. Ahmed Zarie, a university spokesperson, said in a televised interview that although the student was not on Al-Azhar premises, she had “committed an immoral act which the university as well as society’s traditions refuse”.

The following day, however, Al-Azhar’s grand imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb, urged the disciplinary committee to “reconsider the punishment”, citing the young age of the woman.

Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam’s most prominent institution, does not allow male and female students to mix. Al-Tayeb called on the board to “offer advice and guidance before resorting to punishments”. On Tuesday, the board decided to bar her only from taking the her first semester exams.

The male student was referred to a disciplinary hearing for breaking “university values and morals”. The institution later suspended him for two years.

However, the education minister, Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, subsequently vowed to intervene to reduce the punishment, saying in a TV interview: “We will completely ease off the penalty … punishment should be proportionate with the violation.”

The following day, the university committee ruled that the student, like his fiancee, would only be barred from his first semester exams.

The case is the latest instance of ostensibly secular authorities embracing religious conservatism in Muslim-majority Egypt, where public displays of affection are frowned upon.

While the reduced penalties were praised on social media and by chatshow hosts, others criticised the couple.

Amr Adeeb, a pro-state TV presenter, applauded Al-Tayeb’s decision as an example to “tolerance and upbringing, as he saw the girl is inexperienced and her future should not be ended in that manner”. Adeeb described the grand imam as a “merciful father”.

Khaled Al-Gendy, a member of the Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs and television host, speaking on his show on the DMC television channel, also praised the decision to overturn the woman’s expulsion, which he said chimed with public sympathy.

However, Mohamed Ibrahim, a student at Al-Azhar University, said he mourned “the days when university’s purpose was learning and education. We have certain culture and traditions, and the suspension seemed a reasonable step.”

Article 278 of the Egyptian Penal Code, criminalises “anyone committing a public act that breaches the moral code”.