BEN HUBBARD
The Associated Press
Published Friday, Jul. 29, 2011 6:34AM EDT
Last updated Friday, Jul. 29, 2011 12:41PM EDT
Calls for an Islamic state have taken over Cairo's Tahrir Square as the largest
demonstration since February has been mobilized by the country's Islamist
organizations. Ultraconservative Muslims turned out in force Friday as tens of
thousands filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square in a rally marked by a growing
rift in the protest movement.
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A protester holds an Egyptian flag while standing on a light pole at Tahrir
square in Cairo July 29, 2011.Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo's Tahrir
Square on Friday to show Islamists and others were united in wanting change,
though divisions remain on how hard to press the military rulers about the pace
and depth of reforms.
Video
Protesters return to Tahrir Square
South of the capital, gunmen fired on a car carrying Christians, killing two.
While the motive was unknown, similar events have sparked religious violence in
the past.
In one of the largest crowds to fill the square since the popular uprising that
ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February, Salafis chanted for the
implementation of strict Islamic law spurring accusations that they violated
an agreement to keep the rally free from divisive issues.
They have come in a show of force to demand that the country's caretaker
authority, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, cease its plans to present
a set of principles that will form a framework for a new constitution.
Islamist group's such as the Muslim Brotherhood Egypt's best organized
political force and the former terrorist organization Gamaa Islamiya along
with disparate Salafist bodies argue that only God's word is greater than a
constitution and that only a parliament chosen by free election can set the
terms for a constitution. These groups stayed away from recent demonstrations
that sought to keep up pressure on the military council that took power after
former president Hosni Mubarak's fall, leading to smaller crowds.
The groups believe that they will poll enough support to dominate such a
parliament and thereby set the terms. They fear that a kind of bill of rights
could close off the possibility of a state run by Islamic laws.
The secular youths who once dominated this central Cairo square are in a
distinct minority these days, and especially on Friday, dominated as it is by
Islamists.
Liberal parties endorse the measure in an effort to limit what they fear will
be outsized Islamist influence on the new document should religious groups win
a large share of the parliament. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has
accepted the idea.
Leaders of the original secular groups such as the April 6 Movement have agreed
with Islamist leaders that neither side will confront the other today.
In the past 24 hours, the secularists won agreement from the Islamists that the
day would be known as the Day of Unity, rather than the Day of Sharia as called
for by the Islamists.
No one, however, appears to have told the hundreds of thousands of Islamist
supporters packed together in Tahrir Square in the midday sun.
Crowds of ultraconservative Salafis, however, gave a common protests chant an
Islamic twist sparking criticisms from others who said the chants violated an
agreement to avoid divisive issues.
Instead of "Peaceful, peaceful," which demonstrators have chanted during
confrontations with security forces, they repeated "Islamic, Islamic." And
instead of "The people want to topple the regime" a chant made famous in
Tunisia and adopted across the region they yelled, "The people want to
implement Sharia," or Islamic law.
Salafis are ultraconservatives, close to Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi interpretation
of Islam and more radical than the Brotherhood. They seek to emulate the
austerity of Islam's early days and oppose a wide range of practices like
intermingling of the sexes that they view as "un-Islamic." Many also reject all
forms of Western cultural influence.
Elsewhere in Egypt, some of the Islamic protests turned violent.
Gunmen fired on a car carrying five Christians in the province of Minya south
of Cairo, killing two and injuring two, a military official said. It was the
second killing in two weeks in the predominantly Christian village of Roman.
Christian residents gathered in front of the hospital where the bodies were
taken as the word spread, although the official said the attackers had not been
captured and the reason for the shooting was not known.
In the Sinai city of al-Arish, hard-line Salafis fired rocket-propelled
grenades and other heavy weapons in the air during protests, injuring a small
boy, according to an intelligence official.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized
to brief the media.
In the southern city of Assiut, deputy police chief Yosri el-Jammasi said
Salafist protesters beat up a group of protesters from the Communist party
trying to join their demonstration. At one point, some in the crowd yelled back
at a speaker who criticized the idea of constitutional guidelines.
The rally comes a day after Egypt's Justice Ministry said former president
Hosni Mubarak, along with his two sons, his former security chief and seven
others, will be tried at a Cairo convention centre.
Of the 11, Mr. Mubarak, his security chief former Interior Minister Habib
el-Adly and six top police officers are charged with ordering the use of
deadly force against protesters. If convicted, the eight could face the death
penalty.
Mr. Mubarak, his sons Gamal and Alaa and businessman Hussein Salem also face
corruption charges. Mr. Salem, a close friend of Mubarak's, is at large.
The announcement had little apparent effect on Friday's protest, mostly because
most activists doubt Mr. Mubarak will actually stand trial Wednesday as planned.
Mr. Mubarak's lawyer and doctors treating him in the Red Sea resort of Sharm
el-Sheikh have repeatedly reported that the 83-year-old ousted leader's health
is failing, though Egypt's health ministry said he is fit enough to stand trial.
With files from Patrick Martin
More related to this story
* Egyptian military seeks political role, raising fears among activists
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Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo July 29, 2011. -
Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo July 29, 2011. | Amr
Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
Thousands of protesters gather in Tahrir Square in Cairo July 29, 2011.
Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters
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