 Al @-@ Azhar also served as a focal point for protests against the Ottoman occupation of Egypt , both from within the ulema and from among the general public . Student protests at al @-@ Azhar were common , and shops in the vicinity of the mosque would often close out of solidarity with the students . The ulema was also on occasion able to defy the government . In one instance , in 1730 – 31 , Ottoman aghas harassed the residents living near al @-@ Azhar while pursuing three fugitives . The gates at al @-@ Azhar were closed in protest and the Ottoman governor , fearing a larger uprising , ordered the aghas to refrain from going near al @-@ Azhar . Another disturbance occurred in 1791 in which the wāli harassed the people near the al @-@ Hussein Mosque , who then went to al @-@ Azhar to demonstrate . The wāli was subsequently dismissed from his post . 
