Egypt is holding its breath as the country’s military and Islamists have urged their supporters to hold rival massive rallies on Friday amid violent tensions over the army’s overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi earlier this month. Defence Minister Abdul Fatah Al Sissi has called on Egyptians to rally nationwide Friday to give the army and police what he termed as a “mandate and command” to act against violence and terrorism, signaling possible tough measures against Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt’s military however insisted Thursday that Islamists were not being targeted by Sissi’s call for an anti-terrorism rally. “[The] call was not a threat to any political group in particular,” the military spokesman said in a statement. Influencial anti-Islamists groups heeded the military’s call. “Egyptians will stand before the world to show they are against terrorism,” said Mahmoud Bader, a co-founder of the anti-Islamist Tamarod group that mobilised three-day of street protests which eventually led to Mursi’s ouster on July 3. “Tomorrow (Friday) will cap the revolutionary wave that started on June 30,” Bader added in a statement. The Brotherhood has vowed to stage large protests on Friday against what it calls the “bloody military coup”, raising the prospect for further street violence with the pro-military demonstrators. The Brotherhood and Islamist allies have denounced Al Sissi’s call as a “declaration of civil war”. The Brotherhood’s fugitive head Mohammad Badie on Thursday called on his supporters to stage “peaceful” protests . He made an unusually harsh attack on Egypt’s military chief, saying his ouster of President Mohammad Mursi was a worse crime than even destroying the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine. “I swear by God that what Sissi did in Egypt is more criminal than if he had carried an axe and demolished the holy Kaaba stone by stone,” said Badie, raising the specter of violence between the two camps. Badie has not been seen in public for more than two weeks after Egyptian authorities issued an arrest warrant for him allegedly for inciting violence. He branded Sissi, who led Mursi’s ouster, as a coup leader “acting as though he were the actual ruler of the country.” Anti-Islamist groups have announced unqualified support for Al Sissi. “Millions of Egyptians will take to the streets on Friday to emphasise their vehement rejection of bloodshed and terrorism practised by a certain political faction that has repeatedly refused offers for national reconciliation,” said the National Salvation Front, a grouping of liberals and leftists. Secular politicians and state media accuse the Brotherhood of fomenting violence in the country and standing behind a series of attacks targeting army and police forces in the lawless Sinai Peninsula. The Brotherhood insists that its protests are peaceful and accuse security agencies of inciting assaults on its followers. A presidential aide said Al Sissi’s call aims at “protecting the revolution and the state”. “Egypt has started a war on terrorism,” said Ahmad Al Muslemani, the presidential spokesman, added. “May God forbid that the worst happens,” said Hassan Hendawi, a shop owner in northern Cairo. “Both sides are preparing as though they were entering a military battle. A single spark from here or there will be enough to ignite a big fire,” added Hendawi, 58, who said he would shut down his store and stay at home on Friday. In an obvious bid to encourage Egyptians to turn out for the pro-military rallies, the army and police have said their troops will secure places of the rallies and act firmly against “any bid to violate the law”. More than 100 people have been killed in Egypt in violence, mostly in clashes between Mursi’s backers and opponents, since the Islamist leader’s toppling. — with inputs from AP and AFP