Islamists take to streets in support of Mursi
Source: Agencies |
December 2, 2012, Sunday
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TENS of thousands of Islamists waved Egyptian flags and hoisted portraits of President Mohammed Morsi in rallies nationwide yesterday to support his efforts to rush through a new draft constitution despite widespread opposition by secular activists and some in the judiciary.
The demonstrations - the largest turnout of Morsi supporters since he came to office in June - were seen as a test of strength for Islamists seeking to counteract mass opposition protests denouncing the president's decision to seize near absolute power and the fast-tracking of the draft charter by an Islamist-led assembly ahead of a Constitutional Court decision today on whether to dissolve the panel.
Morsi says he acted to prevent courts led by holdovers from Hosni Mubarak's ousted regime from delaying a transition to democracy.
But his decision last week to put himself above judicial oversight has plunged the country into turmoil and mobilized an increasingly cohesive opposition of liberal and secular politicians.
The Muslim Brotherhood organized yesterday's protests a day after the opposition in a bid to avoid conflict.
"The people support the president's decision!" chanted crowds outside Cairo University, where tens of thousands had gathered by midday.
They held posters that read "Yes to stability" and "Yes to Islamic law."
Protests in other parts of Egypt were expected to also attract large crowds in the evening. The rallies were dubbed "Shariyya and Shariah," Arabic for "legitimacy and Islamic law."
Members of the assembly, who wrote the charter and approved it in a 16-hour long voting session it just after dawn Friday, were expected to hand to Morsi the final draft later yesterday. The president is then expected to set a date for a nationwide referendum on the document, possibly in mid-December.
The speeding of the constitutional draft through the assembly, despite a boycott by secular and Christians, was seen as an attempt to circumvent a legal challenge that threatened to dissolve the panel and delay the charter.
Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters gathered in Cairo but stayed away from the central Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the anti-Mubarak revolution and the site of the opposition protests, drawing up to 200,000 people on Friday,
Ibrahim Galal, a 21-year student, said Tahrir protesters are mobilized largely by members of the old regime. "If it's about numbers, we too can mobilize. Let the ballot box speak. Not everyone can speak for the people," he said.
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, hundreds of riot police were deployed to create a buffer between several thousand pro and anti-Morsi protesters.
The demonstrations - the largest turnout of Morsi supporters since he came to office in June - were seen as a test of strength for Islamists seeking to counteract mass opposition protests denouncing the president's decision to seize near absolute power and the fast-tracking of the draft charter by an Islamist-led assembly ahead of a Constitutional Court decision today on whether to dissolve the panel.
Morsi says he acted to prevent courts led by holdovers from Hosni Mubarak's ousted regime from delaying a transition to democracy.
But his decision last week to put himself above judicial oversight has plunged the country into turmoil and mobilized an increasingly cohesive opposition of liberal and secular politicians.
The Muslim Brotherhood organized yesterday's protests a day after the opposition in a bid to avoid conflict.
"The people support the president's decision!" chanted crowds outside Cairo University, where tens of thousands had gathered by midday.
They held posters that read "Yes to stability" and "Yes to Islamic law."
Protests in other parts of Egypt were expected to also attract large crowds in the evening. The rallies were dubbed "Shariyya and Shariah," Arabic for "legitimacy and Islamic law."
Members of the assembly, who wrote the charter and approved it in a 16-hour long voting session it just after dawn Friday, were expected to hand to Morsi the final draft later yesterday. The president is then expected to set a date for a nationwide referendum on the document, possibly in mid-December.
The speeding of the constitutional draft through the assembly, despite a boycott by secular and Christians, was seen as an attempt to circumvent a legal challenge that threatened to dissolve the panel and delay the charter.
Tens of thousands of Morsi supporters gathered in Cairo but stayed away from the central Tahrir Square, the birthplace of the anti-Mubarak revolution and the site of the opposition protests, drawing up to 200,000 people on Friday,
Ibrahim Galal, a 21-year student, said Tahrir protesters are mobilized largely by members of the old regime. "If it's about numbers, we too can mobilize. Let the ballot box speak. Not everyone can speak for the people," he said.
In the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, hundreds of riot police were deployed to create a buffer between several thousand pro and anti-Morsi protesters.
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