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Islamist groups and figures are calling on their supporters to surround the Egyptian Media Production City on Sunday in response to the Friday clashes in front of the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters in Moqattam. Salafi preacher and Al-Raya Party leader Hazem Salah Abu Ismail posted on his Facebook page a call for protests at the Media City, where most satellite television station studios are housed, as well as “peacefully laying siege” to liberal parties’ headquarters and the houses of liberal opposition leaders. Ahmed Aboul Enein / Daily news Egypt More : http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/03/23/islamists-call-for-media-city-siege/
The Rand Corporation launched a new report today, ‘Voting Patterns in Post-Mubarak Egypt,’ with an event featuring report author Jeffrey Martini and commentary from Michele Dunne of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Samer Shehata of Georgetown University.
Using data from four post-Mubarak elections, the report gives a better understanding of the future electoral prospects of Islamist and non-Islamist parties in Egypt. Martini stressed two main findings from the report: first, that despite perceptions, Egypt is not “lost to Islamists,” and that if secularists choose to contest the next parliamentary election, they will gain seats. Second, non-Islamists have the most to gain in the Delta, an area often referred to as an Islamist stronghold, and yet one where Islamists have consistently underperformed their national averages.(...) The report itself concludes: "Should the non-Islamist parties reverse course and contest the vote, this report argues that non-Islamists would improve their position, picking up seats from their Islamist rivals. The potential boycott notwithstanding, Egypt does not appear “lost” to Islamists, nor are non-Islamists irrelevant to the country’s future. Rather, Egypt appears headed toward a much more competitive political environment in which Islamists are increasingly challenged to maintain their electoral edge." More on: http://www.acus.org/egyptsource/voting-patterns-egypt-heading-toward-competitive-political-environment
Il ne s’agit pas de crier victoire trop tôt mais il semble bien que les islamistes subissent un coup d’arrêt psychologique après une expansion croissante qui les a vus déferler à travers presque tous les pays du Moyen-Orient et de l’Afrique. Sans pour autant être décisive et durable, cette tendance s’affirme clairement, qu’ils soient au pouvoir ou dans une opposition armée, en Égypte, en Tunisie, en Syrie, à Gaza ou au Mali. Il y a ceux qui ont été portés au sommet en proposant des montagnes de rêves et d’espoirs mais l’exercice du pouvoir leur a été souvent fatal. Il y a les autres, qui ont préféré les armes et la contrainte dans une opposition systématique aux régimes en place mais qui n’arrivent plus à convaincre. Échec en Égypte Les problèmes rencontrés dans la conduite des pays qu’ils régentent ont été à l’origine du reflux des islamistes, ce qui laisse à penser qu’il vaut mieux les laisser s’empêtrer dans les affaires d’un État plutôt que de les en empêcher. C’est le seul moyen pour qu’ils soient déconsidérés ou disqualifiés, loin des rêves censés améliorer le sort de populations en réelle détresse. Arrivés en trombe au pouvoir en Égypte, avec toutes les craintes et les fantasmes qui les accompagnaient, ils flirtent à présent avec l’échec jusqu’à envisager de perdre un pouvoir longtemps espéré, après des années d’oppression qu’ils ont vécues cachés en diffusant leur part de rêves. En Égypte, ils ont montré leur inefficacité au gouvernement après seulement huit mois de pouvoir qui leur ont attiré les mécontentements de toutes les franges de la population. Dans le pays symbole du leadership arabe, la déception est grande, entrainant beaucoup de réserves, partout dans le monde, là où les islamistes développaient leurs réseaux. Les pays qui ont échappé à la révolution arabe redressent à présent la tête sans craindre les foudres des fous de Dieu qui tentaient d’imposer leur loi quelques semaines auparavant. Ainsi, sans crainte de représailles et peu inquiets d’une éventuelle montée de l’islamisme, les Émirats arabes unis n’ont pas hésité à passer en jugement 94 Frères musulmans accusés de complot contre l’État. Plus: http://www.tribunejuive.info/politique/les-deconvenues-des-islamistes-au-pouvoir?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=les-deconvenues-des-islamistes-au-pouvoir
Al-Masry Al-Youm Jama'a al-Islamiya and the Muslim Brotherhood announced Tuesday that they are working to form groups known as the civilian police in cooperation with other Islamist groups. The militias will be able to arrest people they deem to be criminals or breaking laws. Ahmed al-Iskandarani, a spokesman for the Jama'a al-Islamiya’s Construction and Development Party, said the groups would not take action if police were on the streets. However, should police call for further strikes or withdrawals, community police groups would step in under the supervision of the Interior Ministry. “This system is applied in other countries,” he said. To garner further support for the militias, the organizers have issued an open call online. The civilian police initiative is due to growing strike action of police across much of the country. Many are also distrustful of the police after reports of torture and excessive force used against protesters. Yehia al-Sherbini, coordinator of the Muslim Rebels Movement, said his group is willing participate as civilian police to maintain security and protect public and private property. “Islamist movements are capable of replacing the police,” he said. “We can arrest outlaws and hand them over to the police or the army.” “We already started organizing committees in the Assiut and Minya,” he added. More : http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/islamists-form-community-police-militias
Rift intensifies as Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis manoeuvre politically ahead of parliamentary vote. The growing public split between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis has grabbed the headlines in Egypt over the past few weeks as the Islamist factions jockey for power ahead of parliamentary elections.
In a series of new conferences and statements made over the last month, leaders of the Salafi al-Nour party have launched an unprecedented public attack on the Muslim Brotherhood, its political arm the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and President Mohamed Morsi himself, accusing all of failing to lead the country, appointing a weak government, and power-grabbing.
Further complicating Egypt's tumultuous political scene, a court ruling issued last week suspended the elections originally scheduled for next month, and ordered a review of the election law by the Supreme Constitutional Court. (...) Religious realm Salafis adhere to a puritanical interpretation of Islam. For decades they were forced to stay away from politics fearing persecution, and instead focused on religious preaching and social work. Established in May 2001, the al-Nour party surprised many observers after winning about 25 percent of parliamentary seats during 2011-12 elections, making it the second most powerful political force in the country after the Muslim Brotherhood. The political rift between the two groups has also spilled over into the religious realm. Several Salafi leaders resigned from The Islamic Legitimate Body for Rights and Reform (ILBRR) - a religious group established after the 2011 revolution to help coordinate efforts among Egypt's rising religious political forces - accusing it of falling under the Muslim Brotherhood's influence. The coalition includes 119 of Egypt's top religious scholars and activists, and it has helped Islamists converge on political issues, including the constitution, elections, public rallies, and support for Morsi during the presidential elections. The ILBRR is politicised. It is always biased toward the Muslim Brotherhood," Ashraf Thabet, deputy chairman of al-Nour told Al Jazeera. Thabet said his party's latest actions are a response to the behaviour of the Muslim Brotherhood. He accused Morsi of appointing numerous unqualified Brotherhood leaders to senior posts to consolidate control over the country's executive branch, while ignoring al-Nour's political reconciliation initiative.
More on: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/03/201337112323385288.html
The coalition of Islamic forces, including most Islamist groups in Egypt, issued a statement on Saturday night highlighting its support of security forces and criticising attacks on police stations and security directorates. “During these times where the nation is facing severe dangers and attempts to abort the Egyptian revolution and destroy Egypt internally, any patriotic Egyptian should do nothing but put his partisan stances aside and hurry to rescue his nation,” read the statement. The statement said the police institution is a national body that belongs to the people, adding that everyone should support the police in maintaining order and securing public and private property. The statement praised police officers, claiming that they are subjected to huge pressure to ‘politicise’. It described attacking police stations and security directorates as “attempts to spread chaos in the country” and called on the Ministry of Interior to investigate any violations conducted by its personnel. (Daily news Egypt) More : http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/03/10/islamist-groups-support-police/
Islamist movements and Salafi parties plan to organize a demonstration in Tahrir Square on 15 March to protest what they see as normalization in relations with Iran and Shia Muslims, and to pressure the president and Muslim Brotherhood to stop exchanging visits with Iran.
The Salafi Nour and Asala parties, the Jamaa al-Islamiyas Construction and Development Party and the Muslim Rebels, Sahaba and Omatuna movements, as well as the Hazemoun — a group supporting former presidential hopeful and Salafi Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail — plan to participate.
“We will escalate the matter if the Brotherhood keeps signing agreements with Iran,” said Yehia al-Sherbiny, coordinator of the Muslim Rebels movement.
Brotherhood member Karem Radwan said the group would face any Shia “tide,” the word often used to describe what some fear is the spread of Shia Islam in mostly Sunni Egypt. “Our relations with Iran are political, not religious,” Radwan said. More on: http://arabia.msn.com/news/middle-east/1346788/salafis-plan-tahrir-demo-protest-iran/
As Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Egypt March 2 he should be wary of one concerning possibility: Under the rule of Mohammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt is in danger of becoming a Sunni version of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Opposition leaders’ refusal to meet with Mr. Kerry over what they perceive to be as unprincipled US support for Mr. Morsi should serve as a wake-up call and warning to Washington. Morsi’s first step after winning the June 2012 presidential election was to create an alliance with other Islamic groups, and sideline seculars and liberals who could derail the establishment of areligious state. Next, he gave himself immunity from legal prosecution and managed to quickly hoard more power than deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak ever dreamed of having. After a number of maneuvers, Morsi pushed forward a constitution drafted mostly by Brotherhood members and their allies, ignoring the protests of secular opponents, Christians, women, and liberals against the discriminatory language and key articles placed in the new constitution. The new constitution sets the legal ground for creating what could become an Islamic state. It restricts the role of the judicial and legislative branches and stipulates that laws and their interpretations are subject to Islamic jurisprudence. It further gives legal-oversight power on “matters related to the Islamic sharia” to Al-Azhar University, the oldest and highest Sunni religious institution in Egypt. (Nesreen Akhtarkhavari | Christian Science Monitor, via Yahoo news) More : http://news.yahoo.com/warning-john-kerry-middle-east-trip-egypt-could-160753073--politics.html;_ylt=A2KJNF9L8DBREFQAJpn_wgt.
The Egyptian Female Lawyers Initiative submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecution in Cairo on Tuesday against the owner of satellite TV channel al-Umma. According to the initiative, Shiekh Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Abdallah, known as Shiekh Abu Islam, insulted female protesters on air by claiming that their goal going to protests was to be sexually harassed. The group also called for protests at the Public Prosecution building on Wednesday to condemn Abu Islam's remarks. Khaled Abu Kreisha, the initiative's legal adviser, said his 26 female clients were demanding an investigation into Abu Islam's comments. The women had taken part in the protest dubbed "The street is ours" to oppose a recent rash of violent sexual assaults on female protesters and activists in and around Tahrir Square. The group's complaint includes a recording of Abu Islam making the comments. This is not the first time Abu Salam was in the news. He was previously accused of desecrating the Bible during the September 2012 US Embassy protests. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm (Egypt independent)
Des milliers de partisans de Mohamed Morsi ont manifesté vendredi au Caire pour dénoncer les violences, après des semaines d'affrontements meurtriers entre la police et des manifestants hostiles au président islamiste.
Le Parti de la construction et du développement, branche politique du groupe radical Gamaa Islamiya, avait appelé à ce rassemblement derrière le mot d'ordre Ensemble contre la violence, accusant l'opposition, menée par les libéraux, d'être responsable des débordements.
La principale coalition de l'opposition, le Front du salut national (FSN), est responsable des violences, ils incitent les gens à haïr des islamistes, a déclaré Hamdi Ramadan, 45 ans.
Leurs appels à un départ de Morsi vont détruire le pays, a lancé Mohammed Abdel Dayem, 39 ans.
Les manifestants ont également appelé à la libération d'Omar Abdel Rahman, brandissant des portraits de ce cheikh aveugle détenu aux Etats-Unis pour son rôle dans les attentats du World Trade Center de 1993.
L'islam arrive, Le Coran est notre Constitution!, ont aussi lancé des manifestants en se dirigeant vers le principal rassemblement près de l'université du Caire.
Morsi! Morsi!, criaient d'autres manifestants en agitant des drapeaux égyptiens et en brandissant des banderoles proclamant: Non à la violence, oui à la charia.
Les Frères musulmans, dont est issu le président Morsi, ont indiqué qu'ils se joindraient symboliquement à cette manifestation.
Amid calls by Egypt’s Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya and its political wing, the Construction and Development Party, for Friday mass rallies condemning political violence, Islamist parties appear at odds as to whether or not to participate. The Muslim Brotherhood, for its part, Egypt’s largest Islamist movement, has declared that it would take part in Friday's ‘Together against violence’ demonstration with a "symbolic presence." (....) However, a number of other Islamist parties and groups – including the Salafist Nour Party, the Salafist Watan Party and the moderate-Islamist Wasat Party – voiced reluctance to take part in Friday's planned rally, fearing “further eruptions of [political] violence.” Earlier this month, the Brotherhood refrained from taking part in nationwide protests dubbed the ‘Friday of deliverance,’ saying that it "will not be dragged into any confrontations or provocations." Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya had called for mass protests last Friday, but had to call off the event after other Islamist parties rejected the call. The group therefore postponed the planned demonstrations by one week so as to give itself more time to mobilise the public in advance of the event. On Monday, the group issued calls for a peaceful million-man rally on Friday, 15 February outside Cairo University in the capital’s sprawling Giza district to denounce acts of violence and sabotage. More on: http://arabia.msn.com/news/middle-east/1302656/calls-for-friday-rally-against-political-violence-divide-egypts-islamists/
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The Freedom and Justice Party, the Nour Party and the National Salvation Front (NSF) may be discussing the formation of a new Cabinet that they hope would replace that led by Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, according to informed sources. The ministries in such a coalition Cabinet would be divided equally among the three parties, and Wafd Party head al-Sayed al-Badawy would serve as prime minister, the sources suggested. However, no agreements have been made as yet, they added. NSF leading figure Amr Moussa said a meeting between the three parties was postponed from Thursday to sometime next week to discuss the possibility of forming a new Cabinet, and the delay in the parliamentary elections. Al-Masry Al-Youm More : http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/islamist-opposition-forces-may-be-considering-partnership
Des heurts ont opposé vendredi en banlieue du Caire des manifestants de l'opposition à des membres des Frères musulmans près du siège de la confrérie islamiste. Les deux groupes se sont jeté des pierres près du bâtiment. La police, déployée devant les locaux en prévision de la manifestation, n'est pas encore intervenue. Des centaines d'autres manifestants étaient en route vers la colline du Moqattam, où se trouve le siège des Frères musulmans, selon des images en direct de la télévision. Des militants de l'opposition, y compris des membres des Black Bloc -un groupe hostile aux islamistes, qui manifeste le visage cagoulé- avaient appelé à ce rassemblement. Les opposants accusent les islamistes, dont est issu le président Mohamed Morsi, de chercher à monopoliser le pouvoir et d'avoir trahi la "révolution". AFP, via TV5 Monde Plus : http://www.tv5.org/cms/chaine-francophone/info/p-1911-redir.htm?&rub=2&xml=newsmlmmd.cb1d5ac17da429c238ddd3d6c1c7ca31.b1.xml
The declaration of a state of emergency in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on March 9 in anticipation of planned jihadist attacks on government targets indicates the seriousness of a systemic security breakdown that threatens to destabilize not only Egypt but also its volatile borders with Gaza and Israel. With an estimated 1,600 extremists on the loose in Sinai, it’s no wonder this 23,000-square-mile desert has been ominously dubbed, “the new Afghanistan.” A land bridge linking the black markets and fragile states of North Africa with the greater Middle East, Sinai has become a transcontinental corridor of organized crime and global terrorism. It is a place where masked gunmen routinely hijack police cars in broad daylight, jihadists brazenly test-fire long-range missiles from rogue training camps, and gangs of human traffickers sell sub-Saharan refugees into slavery, or worse, steal their organs. In the economically destitute and politically disenfranchised governorates of North and South Sinai, the need for law and order has never been more acute, yet public confidence in the central government is at an all-time low. After decades of economic mismanagement and a misguided counter-terrorism crackdown that resulted in the mass incarceration of thousands of Bedouins – whose twenty some-odd tribes account for roughly 70 percent of the population of the North and South Sinai governorates – the Egyptian state is associated not with security, but with incompetence, repression and predatory corruption. In a region where government officials are an object of pubic disdain and anger, it is unsurprising that residents of Sinai are looking elsewhere for security and justice. Increasingly, they are turning to a growing number of informal Islamic courts, which are steadily displacing an official justice system viewed as corrupt and inefficient. Since the revolution, informal Islamic courts claim to have absorbed an estimated 75 percent of the caseload once handled by the official justice system. These courts – which operate on shoestring budgets in basements and school classrooms after hours – have successfully capitalized on the fragility of the state in their campaign to promote Sharia law as the only legitimate alternative to what would otherwise be a legal vacuum.
Les partis islamistes rassurent les professionnels du tourisme. Divers représentants politiques ont accompagné la délégation égyptienne au Salon du tourisme ITB de Berlin. Des représentants des Frères musulmans et des salafistes d’Al-Nour ont notamment fait le déplacement. La délégation égyptienne qui a participé à l’ITB Berlin n’était pas restreinte aux professionnels du tourisme. Des membres du Conseil consultatif et des représentants des différents partis égyptiens, notamment ceux islamistes de Liberté et justice et d’Al-Nour en plus d’un représentant du parti libéral néo-Wafd ont également participé au Salon. « Cette délégation composée davantage d’hommes politiques que de professionnels du tourisme a eu pour objectif principal de rassurer tant les touristes que les tour-opérateurs concernant les orientations des partis islamistes sur les libertés accordées aux touristes en Egypte, et ce, surtout après les rumeurs répandues dans les médias continuellement », explique le ministre du Tourisme. Il a précisé que tout le monde en Egypte est conscient de l’importance du tourisme comme secteur crucial de l’économie égyptienne. Ce secteur contribue à l’économie du pays à hauteur de 11,6 % du PNB, et constitue un apport de 19 % du total des entrées en devises étrangères. Tareq Al-Sahri, vice-président du Conseil consultatif, a ajouté que tous les Egyptiens respectent les touristes et que personne ne peut porter atteinte à leurs libertés. (Daia Farouq / Al-Ahram Hebdo) Plus : http://hebdo.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/965/32/97/1927/Salon-du-Tourisme-de-Berlin--Les-islamistes-se-veu.aspx
Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry is considering a ban on the sale of alcohol in airport duty-free stores after it received complaints that it goes against the country's Islamic principles, ministry officials and a senior lawmaker said Tuesday. Duty Free officials said the ministry has been reviewing the policy for about four months after citizens and ministry officials complained. Liberal and secular opponents of Egypt's Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, fear he and his supporters are seeking to slowly enshrine a more conservative system in Egypt based on Islamic law. There are also concerns that steps such as banning alcohol would drive away tourists, a critical source of income for Egypt's faltering economy. Morsi's Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has emerged as the most powerful political force in Egypt since the uprising two years ago that ousted the authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak. Civil Aviation Minister Wael el-Maadawi, a former general who is not affiliated with an Islamist party, raised the idea of the ban in a meeting Monday with members of the interim parliament's transportation committee, said committee head Mohammed Sadeq.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_EGYPT_ALCOHOL_BAN?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Seven parties move to protect Morsi's gov't from increasing protests following police strike, protests and calls for coup. Seven Islamist parties in Egypt have moved to protect the Muslim Brotherhood-led government from increasing protests, which threaten the movement’s hold on power. The parties formed the Umma (“Islamic nation”) Alliance to protect the “achievements of the January 25 Revolution” and stand against those who interrupt the “constitutional path that allows people to choose their ruler,” Ahram Online reported. The parties, at a press conference on Saturday, said that they saw “clear dangers” because of therecent protests, the police strike, and calls for the army to carry out a coup to replace President Mohamed Morsi, according to the report. The alliance consists of the Salafist Raya party, the Reform party, the Asala (“Authenticity”) party, the People’s party, the Islamic party, the Fadila (“Virtue”) party and the New Labor party. They also are demanding a revised timetable for elections since Egypt’s administrative court canceled the planned April 22 vote. The Umma Alliance called on all parties to join it to “protect the rights of the people.” Meanwhile, an important Salafi leader of the Raya party, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, tried to tie the opposition protests to foreign powers, warning about a “scheme of global powers to sabotage the country,” according to the Egypt Independent website. This comes after Ahram Online reported last month that there were divisions within the Islamist bloc, with the second largest party, Islamist Nour, disagreeing with the Muslim Brotherhood government on some matters. It is yet to be seen if all the Islamist parties will unite to stave off any threat to the government’s hold on power. (The Jerusalem Post) http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?utm_medium=referral&id=305932&utm_source=t.co
Debate within the Muslim Brotherhood about the current mode of rule and future of the organisation is expanding and is causing a headache to the leadership of the group, according to sources from within the group. It is in fact, according to some, a more nagging problem than the recent fall-out between the Muslim Brotherhood and a sector of its Islamist allies — the Salafist El-Nour Party. This split within the Islamist camp is perplexing to many commentators. Some observers say it is only a temporarily fight over the share of power that El-Nour wanted in the executive branch, while others insist that it is a true schism within the Islamist camp that has started to now show its many shades. According to the accounts of some Arab and foreign diplomats in Cairo, the Muslim Brotherhood-Salafist spat is in fact a reflection of a tug-of-war between arch-enemies in the Arab Gulf, Qatar, a firm supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Saudi Arabia, the ultimate supporter of Salafist groups. Whatever is the reality, in view of the decision of the liberal/leftist opposition grouping the National Salvation Front (NSF), established to confront the controversial 22 November decree, to boycott upcoming parliamentary elections, the political battle now is between Islamists. The joke on social media and Cairo streets now is that the Muslim Brotherhood would be the majority party and the Salfists would be the opposition. Some argue that it might even be the Salafis who gain the majority seats of the next parliament, rather than the Muslim Brotherhood. According to Mukhtar Nouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood who defected after two decades of association, "Unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, whose declining credibility is easy to argue, due to the unfortunate performance of the president and his government, the Salafists have not been tested, technically speaking. So they might have a better chance. But the fact of the matter is that the performance of the presidency is discrediting the entire project of political Islam, as we have known it for years." Mohamed Abdul-Koudous, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who was openly critical of Morsi's performance to the extent of blaming him for discrediting "the long, honourable history of the Muslim Brotherhood," the call of political Islam has not been defeated. For Abdul-Koudous, the theory is good but the practice has fallen short. "Mohamed Morsi might have never thought that there would come a day whereby he would be a president. The January 25 Revolution took us all by surprise. We have all acted in haste. But it is not too late to shape up," he argued. Elchoubaki sees the survival of political Islam conditioned on key steps: first, political Islam groups — especially the older and larger Muslim Brotherhood — will have to go through a process of revision and reform; then these groups will have to decide to act part of the existing system rather than in the hope of tumbling the existing system to bring in a new system; last, the Islamists will have to come to terms with the fact that democracy is not a one-off electoral process, but rather a multi-pillared mechanism that will only keep them in power if they succeed in impressing the public. "The Islamists have to step beyond Sharia (Islamic law) preaching and get into offering serious solutions to serious problems that the average Egyptian is facing in their daily life, and they need to realise that if in power they will have to cater to the pleasure of all citizens and not just Muslims," Elchoubaki said. (Ahram Online) More : http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/65861/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Islamists-%E2%80%93-what-next.aspx
A group of Islamists surround the Abu Maqar Church in Shubra al-Kheima on Monday in an attempt to stop construction on the church's annex, claiming that the building is not licensed, said sources from the Qalyubiya security department. Security forces were deployed to the area to convince the group to step down and allow work to resume, the sources claimed. Ramsis al-Deiry, a member of the Shubra al-Kheima archbishopric's Millet Council, said group of Salafis and members affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood surrounded the building and prevented workers from resuming construction. The church has all the required license from the municipality for the construction, which had been postponed due to a lack of security and ongoing political instability, Deiry said. “When the engineer started constructing the building, we found several complaints. Consequently, West Shubra District engineers urged approval on the renewal of the work, according to license issued by the municipalities. A decision was then issued for 15 days to correct the construction. When the engineers, contractor and workers started on the correction on Monday, everyone was surprised by the group of Salafis and Brotherhood [members] who surrounded the building and prevented workers from working," he stated. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm (Egypt independent) http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/islamists-attempt-halt-construction-shubra-al-kheima-church
President Mohamed Morsi's decision to fire a hard-line Islamist as an adviser has laid bare rivalries between Egypt's two biggest Islamist groups as parliamentary elections approach. The sacking of Khaled Alameddin of the Salafi Nour Party on Sunday has led his movement to step up criticism of the Muslim Brotherhood that propelled Morsi to power, narrowing the already slim chances of the two movements working together in the election. Alameddin broke down in tears during a news conference on Monday, saying he had been accused of abusing power. The presidency has yet to issue a statement on why Alameddin was dismissed. "I formally demand an apology from the president. I won't accept an apology less than that," Alameddin said. Another of Morsi's advisers from the Nour Party, Bassam El-Zarka, announced his resignation at the news conference, apparently in solidarity with Alameddin. The Nour Party, which emerged from the ultra-conservative religious movement Daawa Salafiya, came second to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's last parliamentary elections, the results of which were overturned by a court ruling last June. New elections are due to begin in April or May. Since the last legislative vote, the two movements have both co-operated and clashed. Nour backed a Brotherhood rival, Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh, in the first round of the presidential election. But it swung behind Morsi in the second-round run-off against Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak's last prime minister. Mursi employed several Nour Party members as advisers. The groups co-operated to drive through an Islamist-tinged constitution approved in a December referendum, deepening a national divide between Islamists and their opponents. (News 24) More : http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Tensions-flare-among-Egypt-Islamists-20130218?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co
Des milliers de partisans de Mohamed Morsi ont manifesté vendredi au Caire pour dénoncer les violences, après des semaines d'affrontements meurtriers entre la police et des manifestants hostiles au président islamiste. Le Parti de la construction et du développement, branche politique du groupe radical Gamaa Islamiya, avait appelé à ce rassemblement derrière le mot d'ordre "Ensemble contre la violence", accusant l'opposition, menée par les libéraux, d'être responsable des débordements. La principale coalition de l'opposition, le Front du salut national (FSN), est "responsable des violences, ils incitent les gens à haïr des islamistes", a déclaré Hamdi Ramadan, 45 ans. "Leurs appels à un départ de Morsi vont détruire le pays", a lancé Mohammed Abdel Dayem, 39 ans. (AFP, via Libération) Plus : http://www.liberation.fr/monde/2013/02/15/egypte-manifestation-de-soutien-d-un-parti-islamiste-au-president-morsi_882130
Thousands of supporters of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi took to the street on Friday to denounce violence after weeks of bloody protests between police and anti-Morsi protesters.
The Islamist Construction and Development Party had called for the rally under the slogan "Together against violence", blaming the liberal-led opposition for unrest that has recently swept the country.
The opposition National Salvation Front "is responsible for the violence, they incite the people to hate the Islamists," said Hamdi Ramadan, 45. "Their calls for Morsi to leave are going to destroy the country," said Mohammed Abdel Dayem, 39.
Protesters also called for the release of blind Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, holding up pictures of the Egyptian cleric jailed in the Unites States for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center attack. "Islam is coming", "The Koran is our constitution!", demonstrators chanted as they marched towards the main rally near Cairo University. "Morsi! Morsi!" others cheered as they waved Egyptian flags and held up banners that read "No to Violence, Yes to Sharia" or Islamic law. More on: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/egypt-islamist-party-holds-pro-morsi-rally-141847201.html
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