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Note: This article is from the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Egyptian protesters chant outside the presidential palace in Cairo on Dec 4, 2012. President Morsi left the palace as it was surrounded by up to 100,000 protesters.

(by Richard Spencer and Magdy Samaan, Daily Telegraph) CAIRO – Egypt’s presidential palace was encircled by anti-Muslim Brotherhood protesters in a violent demonstration in Cairo, as the constitutional crisis caused by President Mohammed Morsi’s assumption of unchallengeable powers showed no sign of abating.

President Morsi was forced to leave the palace through a back door as up to 100,000 people moved in to surround it on all sides. Some stones were thrown, one hitting the rear car in the president’s convoy.

Ignoring volleys of tear gas, the protesters burst through first one then a second line of police blocking the way to reach the palace, which was the site of the final act in the overthrow of former dictator Hosni Mubarak last year.

Then, as on Tuesday, demonstrators chanted: “The people want the downfall of the regime.”

There were also protests in towns and cities all over the country, including places previously unaffected. Nineteen people were injured when offices of the Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political front, came under attack in Minya, a city along the Nile River.

Mr. Morsi thought he had won a significant victory on Monday, when the Supreme Judicial Council [reversed] decisions by lower-ranking judges to boycott a referendum [vote] set to approve a constitution that opponents say is Islamist and fails to respect key rights. However, Tuesday night’s rally suggested opposition would continue.

“Thousands of people are joining us in this demonstration against the dictatorship of the (Muslim Brotherhood),” said Hussein Abdelghani, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front. The Front is the coalition of liberal, leftist and secular* parties led by Mohammed ElBaradei, the former United Nations Atomic Agency chief, which is organizing the protests. [*secularists believe that religion should not play a role in government, education, or other public parts of society]

“We are going to use any possible, civil means to send a message to both the president and the international community.”

As tear gas swirled overhead, Maryam Samy, 25, a telecommunications engineer, said: “The new constitution has no compromise. They want to apply their own standards of freedom, which is not freedom.

“This constitution is worse than the [former ruler] Mubarak constitution. It was better under the military – we could all rebel against the military but the Brotherhood are using the poor and religion to divide society.”

The rally provided a stark illustration of the dividing line that has cut across revolutionary Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood also mustered hundreds of thousands to protest on Saturday, largely bussed in from the suburbs and the [Islamist] provincial towns that provide the Brotherhood’s base.

Tuesday’s crowd was younger and more modern, with hardly any of the galabiyas, traditional Egyptian male tunics, or niqabs, full face-veils, that were widely on display on Saturday. Instead there were thousands of women, many not even wearing the head-scarf, as well as fashionably dressed young men.

Many were dismissive of the Muslim Brotherhood’s supporters. Ali Sisy, the deputy editor of Masry al-Youm, one of the main [secular] newspapers, said bluntly: “This is a conflict between ignorance and civilization.”

The Brotherhood insists the [new constitution they created] contains basic rights and freedoms, including of speech and belief, as well as recognizing Egypt’s traditional, Muslim culture. It also says the referendum, set for December 15, will end Mr. Morsi’s self-proclaimed powers to act without judicial oversight on “sovereign matters.” …

Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission from the Telegraph. Visit the website at telegraph.co.uk.

Questions

NOTE: Islamism is an ideology (Islam is a religion). Islamists support Shariah (Islamic) law, and wish to have it implemented in as many countries as possible; preferably throughout the entire world.

1.  Why did Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi leave the presidential palace last night (and through a back door)?

2.  What do the protesters want?

3.  Islamist President Morsi, a long-time Muslim Brotherhood leader, won the presidency with just over 50% of the vote.  His Islamist supporters wrote a new constitution which is now being pushed to be voted on by the people.  It is assumed that as President Morsi’s supporters are just over half the voters, the new constitution the Muslim Brotherhood wants (and was instrumental in creating) will be passed.  Why do the protesters oppose this constitution?

4.  Who are the protesters?

5.  Who are President Morsi’s supporters?

Background

MOHAMED MORSI:

  • Mohamed Morsi is the fifth and current President of Egypt, having assumed office June 30, 2012.
  • Educated in the United States, Morsi was a Member of Parliament in the People’s Assembly of Egypt from 2000 to 2005 and a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood.
  • He became Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) when it was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
  • He stood as the FJP’s candidate for the May-June 2012 presidential election.
  • On June 24, 2012, the election commission announced that Morsi won Egypt’s presidential runoff against Ahmed Shafik, the last prime minister under deposed leader Hosni Mubarak.
  • According to official results, Morsi took 51.7 percent of the vote while Shafik received 48.3.
  • Morsi resigned from his position as the head of the FJP after his victory was announced.
  • He is the first civilian to hold the office, and the first chosen in a contested election with direct universal suffrage.
  • Morsi seeks to influence the drafting of a new constitution of Egypt. Morsi [says he] favors a constitution that protects civil rights, yet is enshrined in Islamic law. (from wikipedia)

EGYPT’S MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD:

  • A widespread Islamist organization founded in 1928, the Brotherhood seeks to Islamize societies from the ground up and compel governments in Muslim countries to adhere to sharia, or Islamic law.
  • At various times in its history, the group has used or supported violence and has been repeatedly banned in Egypt for attempting to overthrow Cairo’s secular government.
  • Since the 1970s, however, the Egyptian Brotherhood has disavowed violence and sought to participate in Egyptian politics. The U.S. State Department does not include the group on its list of terrorist organizations.
  • Still, the Egyptian government mistrusts the Brotherhood’s pledge of nonviolence and continues to ban the organization.
  • One reason the Brotherhood’s commitment to nonviolence is unclear: The original Egyptian organization has spawned branches in 70 countries. These organizations bear the Brotherhood name, but their connections to the founding group vary and some of them may provide financial, logistical, or other support to terrorist organizations.
  • Some terrorist groups-including Hamas, Jamaat al-Islamiyya, and al-Qaeda-have historic and ideological affiliations with the Egyptian Brotherhood.
  • In addition, some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists were once Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members, including Osama bin Laden’s top deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. The organization is like a “stepping stone,” says Evan Kohlmann, an international terrorism consultant. (from cfr.org/publication/9248/does_the_muslim_brotherhood_have_ties_to_terrorism.html)

Resources

For info on the disputed constitution, click here.

Read two recent articles on President Morsi’s decree granting himself absolute power:

Read a commentary “Dangerously Underestimating the Muslim Brotherhood:
studentnewsdaily.com/commentary/dangerously-underestimating-the-muslim-brotherhood

Watch a 12/4/12 news report:

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