Rectors of 43 Turkish universities sent a letter to Egypt's Grand Mufti demanding the reversal of an Egyptian court's decision to sentence 683 of Muslim Brotherhood members to death. "Execution of the death sentences will create deep wounds in Egypt and the Islamic world and damage justice and the feeling of confidence," Turkish newspapers cited the letter by Marmara University in Istanbul as saying. The letter to Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam stated that the Muslim communities should protect their own future with their own free will