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Egypt\u2019s Muslim Brotherhood, along with fellow Islamist movements, called for mass rallies on Saturday to support President Mohammed Mursi, a day after thousands of the president\u2019s opponents protested in several governorates to denounce the latest constitutional declaration.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo on Friday to pile pressure on Mursi after a panel dominated by fellow Islamists rushed through a controversial draft constitution.<\/p>\n
Protests also spread to Egypt\u2019s second-largest city Alexandria on Friday, where several casualties were reported in the Sidi Gaber neighborhood, according to Al Arabiya\u2019s correspondent. <\/p>\n
The thousands protesting in front of Alexandria\u2019s Al-Qaed Ibrahim Mosque, demanded the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, and urged Mursi and Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to step down, reported the privately-owned Egypt Independent. <\/p>\n
Conditions escalated in Egypt after Mursi issued a controversial constitutional declaration on Nov. 22 granting him sweeping powers. The president said the decree is designed to speed up the democratic transition and will lapse as soon as Egyptians vote on a new constitution.<\/p>\n
But the new charter, adopted after a marathon overnight session boycotted by liberals and Christians, raises serious human rights concerns, including about religious freedom, activists say.<\/p>\n
Mursi will review the draft on Saturday, said assembly head Hossam el-Ghiriani, and is then expected to call for a popular referendum within two weeks.<\/p>\n
The constitution has taken center stage in the country\u2019s worst political crisis since Mursi\u2019s election in June, squaring largely Islamist forces against liberal opposition groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cDown with the constituent assembly,\u201d vast crowds armed with megaphones chanted as they filed into Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the uprising that overthrew Hosni Mubarak in early 2011.<\/p>\n
Banners condemned \u201cdictatorial Mursi\u201d while protesters shouted \u201cdown with the rule of the Guide,\u201d a reference to the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, through whose ranks Mursi rose before becoming president. <\/p>\n
A spontaneous protest broke out as Mursi prayed in a Cairo mosque, after the preacher called on Muslims to support the president, but with no major incident.<\/p>\n
Clashes broke out in the northern city of Alexandria between pro- and anti-Mursi demonstrators, a security source said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.<\/p>\n
Rallies are due to be held by both camps in Cairo on Saturday. The president\u2019s supporters are expected to gather in front of Cairo University, while opponents continue their sit-in in Tahrir. <\/p>\n
Mursi\u2019s decree had also spread anger among the country\u2019s judiciary, as the decree issued on Nov. 22 makes any presidential decisions beyond judicial review. The act provoked mass protests and a judges\u2019 strike. <\/p>\n
His decree prevented the top legal body the Supreme Constitutional Court from potentially dissolving of the Islamist-run constituent assembly, in a ruling it was to make on Sunday on the body\u2019s legality.<\/p>\n
The constituent assembly had drafted a charter to replace the one suspended after president Hosni Mubarak\u2019s ouster last year, but its finalization was brought forward amid the commotion caused by Mursi\u2019s decree.<\/p>\n
A judicial strike called by the top Cassation Court and several other tribunals could place the imminent referendum on the charter in jeopardy, if judges who normally supervise elections refuse to grant it legitimacy.<\/p>\n
Activists have lambasted the charter, saying it protects certain rights by undermines others.<\/p>\n
\u201cRushing through a draft while serious concerns about key rights protections remain unaddressed will create huge problems,\u201d Human Rights Watch\u2019s Middle East director Joe Stork said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Amnesty International said the draft \u201craises concerns about Egypt\u2019s commitment to human rights treaties,\u201d specifically ignoring \u201cthe rights of women (and) restricting freedom of expression in the name of religion.\u201d<\/p>\n
It pointed to an article that guarantees freedom of worship for Islam, Christianity and Judaism but makes no mention of other religions, thus \u201cpotentially excluding… religious minorities such as Baha\u2019is and Shiites.\u201d<\/p>\n
The document stated that the \u201cprinciples of Islamic law\u201d are the main source of legislation, but added that this was to be interpreted along the tenets of Sunni Islamic rulings, a clause churches have opposed.<\/p>\n
The draft also bans \u201cinsulting humans,\u201d which activists say could censor political criticism of the president.<\/p>\n
Top opposition leaders Mohamed ElBaradei, former Arab League chief Amr Moussa and Hamdin Sabhi slammed the charter and said they would participate in a sit-in in Tahrir Square until the all recent Islamist gains were reversed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president and his constituent assembly are currently staging a coup against democracy,\u201d said ElBaradei on Twitter, having earlier predicted the charter\u2019s \u201cfate will be the dustbin of history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several private newspapers announced that they would not appear on Tuesday to protest what they say is a lack of press guarantees in the charter.<\/p>\n
Private television channels are expected to follow suit on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
In an interview broadcast Thursday night, Mursi repeated that his new powers will expire once the constitution is ratified, a point which Islamist supporters have repeatedly made in favor of his decree last week.<\/p>\n
A senior member of Mursi\u2019s Muslim Brotherhood, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Islamists\u2019 end game was to put the referendum to vote to grant Mursi\u2019s decision democratic legitimacy.<\/p>\n
Source: Al Arabiya with agencies <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Egypt\u2019s Muslim Brotherhood, along with fellow Islamist movements, called for mass rallies on Saturday to support President Mohammed Mursi, a day after thousands of the president\u2019s opponents protested in several governorates to denounce the latest constitutional declaration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n