SHEIKH ZUWAYYED, Egypt — During the Friday sermon, the imam of one of this conservative North Sinai town's mosques attacked the Egyptian regime and its call for the constitutional referendum. "They cracked down on everything resembling Islam including the Islamic charities and allowed the Christian ones to operate, and then they tell us it's not a war on Islam and call us to vote on their constitution."
The finger-wagging imam's message echoed through the mosque located a couple of miles away from the Zohur military barracks and less than a mile from the vast Sheikh Zuwayyed police compound. But every one of the town residents attending the sermon seemed to have already decided what their vote will be, if they participate.
