CAIRO — Defiant Egyptian Islamists held large demonstrations after midday prayers on Friday to mobilize support for deposed president Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected leader, a day after Morsi and dozens of his Muslim Brotherhood loyalists were detained.
As helicopters circled and jets streaked over Cairo in an show of force from the nation’s powerful military, Islamist officials who until earlier this week controlled Egypt’s government launched a nationwide “day of resistance” against what they called a coup.
Graphic
Main players in the Egypt crisis
Graphic
Military rule in Egypt;
Tens of thousands of people sweltered in the midday sun outside the Rabia al-Adawiya mosque, listening as a speaker called Morsi’s removal from power an assault on the dignity of the people of Egypt. “There are Americans and Zionists behind this,” the speaker said.
Although organizers called on supporters to remain peaceful, such rallies in the past have led to deadly clashes, and residents of Cairo and other areas were braced for chaos.
“We will have our legitimate president, or we will die as martyrs,” said Mohamed abu el-Makatem, an agronomist who traveled from Alexandria to Cairo to attend the demonstrations. He said he did not expect an assault by the army but was worried about “thugs and police.”
At Rabia al-Adawiya, a Brotherhood stronghold, the prayers went on longer than normal. Some of the men wept as they prayed. Many in the crowd waved the red, white and black Egyptian flag, just as thousands of anti-Morsi protesters had done on Wednesday, before the military forced the president from power. To the right of the podium, the black flag with white lettering used by the extremist group al-Qaeda and its affiliate Jabhat al Nusra, which is fighting alongside Syrian rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, was clearly visible.
Those assembled then marched in circles, but were blocked a short distance from the mosque by more than 40 armored personnel carriers. Soon, some of the crowd began to disperse. Others said they would march toward the Republican Guard headquarters, where Morsi reportedly is being held.
The president’s ouster “divided this country in two,” said Ali Mohamed Serag , a bureaucrat at Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity who said he did not belong to the Brotherhood or any Salafi group but was distraught by the military ‘s action. “If people are mad at Obama, they don’t kick him out in a coup.”
Egypt’s generals moved quickly Thursday to put a civilian face on the takeover, installing the head of the constitutional court as interim president just hours after stepping in to force Morsi from power.
But the equally swift moves to arrest and charge leaders of the military’s longtime nemesis, the Morsi-allied Brotherhood, suggest that the nation’s generals are in no mood to reconcile with an Islamist group that until Wednesday had effectively controlled Egypt’s highest office for the past year.
The potential for violence became clear early Friday when suspected Islamist militants attacked security forces in at least four sites in the tumultuous northern Sinai region, according to local news reports that cited security officials.
As helicopters circled and jets streaked over Cairo in an show of force from the nation’s powerful military, Islamist officials who until earlier this week controlled Egypt’s government launched a nationwide “day of resistance” against what they called a coup.
Graphic
Main players in the Egypt crisis
Graphic
Military rule in Egypt;
Tens of thousands of people sweltered in the midday sun outside the Rabia al-Adawiya mosque, listening as a speaker called Morsi’s removal from power an assault on the dignity of the people of Egypt. “There are Americans and Zionists behind this,” the speaker said.
Although organizers called on supporters to remain peaceful, such rallies in the past have led to deadly clashes, and residents of Cairo and other areas were braced for chaos.
“We will have our legitimate president, or we will die as martyrs,” said Mohamed abu el-Makatem, an agronomist who traveled from Alexandria to Cairo to attend the demonstrations. He said he did not expect an assault by the army but was worried about “thugs and police.”
At Rabia al-Adawiya, a Brotherhood stronghold, the prayers went on longer than normal. Some of the men wept as they prayed. Many in the crowd waved the red, white and black Egyptian flag, just as thousands of anti-Morsi protesters had done on Wednesday, before the military forced the president from power. To the right of the podium, the black flag with white lettering used by the extremist group al-Qaeda and its affiliate Jabhat al Nusra, which is fighting alongside Syrian rebels against President Bashar al-Assad, was clearly visible.
Those assembled then marched in circles, but were blocked a short distance from the mosque by more than 40 armored personnel carriers. Soon, some of the crowd began to disperse. Others said they would march toward the Republican Guard headquarters, where Morsi reportedly is being held.
The president’s ouster “divided this country in two,” said Ali Mohamed Serag , a bureaucrat at Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity who said he did not belong to the Brotherhood or any Salafi group but was distraught by the military ‘s action. “If people are mad at Obama, they don’t kick him out in a coup.”
Egypt’s generals moved quickly Thursday to put a civilian face on the takeover, installing the head of the constitutional court as interim president just hours after stepping in to force Morsi from power.
But the equally swift moves to arrest and charge leaders of the military’s longtime nemesis, the Morsi-allied Brotherhood, suggest that the nation’s generals are in no mood to reconcile with an Islamist group that until Wednesday had effectively controlled Egypt’s highest office for the past year.
The potential for violence became clear early Friday when suspected Islamist militants attacked security forces in at least four sites in the tumultuous northern Sinai region, according to local news reports that cited security officials.