Massive Rally for Shariah Law Divides Egypt’s Islamists
Mohannad Sabry reports from Tahrir Square, where thousands gathered to demand the implementation of Shariah law. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafist Nour Party boycotted the protest, revealing divisions among Egypt’s Islamic parties.
CAIRO — Unlike other protests organized by Egypt’s Islamist currents, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and the Salafist Nour Party, who dominated more than 70% of the 2011 parliament, announced boycotting the protest and left Tahrir Square with several thousand protesters demanding a puritanical Islamic constitution.
Sheikh Mohamed Al-Saghir, the Islamic Group’s prominent cleric and top officer of its political Building and Development Party, led the Friday sermon by fiercely criticizing “liberals and democrats who oppose the application of Islamic Sharia.”
“They are executing plans that are drawn for them, obeying whatever orders they receive,” the sheikh’s accusations echoed across Tahrir Square.
Top officers of the Islamic Group addressed protesters from the main stage erected overnight.
