Islamists rally to support Egypt's president

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By AYA BATRAWY

CAIRO (AP) - Tens of thousands of Islamists waved Egyptian flags and hoisted portraits of President Mohammed Morsi in rallies nationwide Saturday to support his efforts to rush through a new draft constitution despite widespread opposition by secular activists and some in the judiciary.

The demonstrations - the largest turnout of Morsi supporters since he came to office in June- were seen as a test of strength for Islamists seeking to counteract mass opposition protests denouncing the president's decision to seize near absolute power and the fast-tracking of the draft charter by an Islamist-led assembly ahead of a Constitutional Court decision on Sunday on whether to dissolve the panel.

Morsi says he acted to prevent courts led by holdovers from Hosni Mubarak's ousted regime from delaying a transition to democracy. But his decision last week to put himself above judicial oversight has plunged the country into turmoil and mobilized an increasingly cohesive opposition leadership of prominent liberal and secular politicians - a contrast to the leaderless youth uprising last year that toppled Mubarak.

The Muslim Brotherhood organized Saturday's protests a day after the opposition in a bid to avoid conflict and violence after days of street skirmishes between protesters from both sides.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20121201/DA2T21301.html

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A supporter of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi holds a Quran and a poster of the president at a rally in front of Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of people waving Egyptian flags and hoisting large pictures of the president are demonstrating across Egypt Saturday in support of Morsi and Islamic law. The rally, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, is seen as a test of strength for Islamists seeking to counteract large opposition protests held this past week by liberal and secular groups who the Brotherhood say do not represent the vast majority of Egyptians. (AP Photo/Thomas Hartwell)

[Ferretherder]

1. Man, it is so refreshing to think...

...that we have another religious strong-man and his pious thugs taking over another country.....

...you can just smell that fresh blood in the streets, already!



'SARCASM', by the way.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. Egypt is an Islamic country.

Morsi is the democratically elected president.

The new constitution will be subject to popular vote.

Do you have a problem with Egyptian democracy?

[davidthegnome]

4. Democracy? Are you being sarcastic?

" But his decision last week to put himself above judicial oversight has plunged the country into turmoil and mobilized an increasingly cohesive opposition leadership of prominent liberal and secular politicians - a contrast to the leaderless youth uprising last year that toppled Mubarak. "

Regardless of the Country, it tends to be moronic religious policies that slow and even prevent progress - that keep people in the shackles of theocracy, bigotry and intolerance. Of course, that's just getting started, we could discuss the probability that Morsi, as a (supposedly former) member of the Muslim Brotherhood is almost certain to push for policies that would ultimately lead up to, if not Sharia law, then something closely resembling it. You think that's a democracy? No one should be above judicial oversight, especially presidents.

I had hope for Egypt's new government, but the more I learn about their new leader... the more it's starting to look like they may ultimately end up moving backward instead of forward.

[Comrade Grumpy]

6. Yeah, democracy.

Presidential elections.

Parliamentary elections.

A constititutional referendum in 13 days.

Morsi's special powers to end then.

The constitution is not a bastion of Western progressivsm, but then neither is Egypt. It's an Islamic country. It will probably have some version of sharia law. I don't like that, but it's not my country.

Yeah, a democracy, but perhaps an illiberal democracy.

[davidthegnome]

7. Sharia law is far from democracy.

Morsi's special powers may end then, or may only appear to end then. There's also the fact that if he can accomplish this now, he can probably do it again later should events turn against him.

The way in which Morsi was elected was indeed democratic - and while a majority of those living in Egypt may follow Islam, there are quite a number of other groups as well. Should the minorities be forced to live by the religious moral codes and even laws of a majority? To a great extent, it's the same argument that we're often having here with religious conservatives, on the separation between church and state.

While it is not our right to enforce our own notion of democracy or righteous government on other Nations, nor can sharia law rightly be called a democracy. Even allowing for Presidential elections and Parliamentary elections, even allowing for the constitutional referendum and so on... consider the history of Sharia. It is unabashedly a religious form of government that follows one groups interpretations of the teachings of a Prophet long dead.

I have no problem with democracy, Egyptian or otherwise. It's when it's tyranny masquerading as democracy that I get upset.

[Ash_F]

3. I wonder if these people are as fundamentalist as media-bots portray.

Look at the women in the pics. Each dressed to varying degrees of orthodoxy. The one on the right is not wearing a head covering at all.

[tabasco]

5. Fuck 'em.

Those who support tyrants deserve what they get.