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Salafist 'Hazemoons' Ponder Next Moves Amid Egypt's Turmoil

The Salafist "Hazemoon" movement, which has supported President Mohammed Morsi since his election, may be growing in influence — and making moves toward challenging Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, reports Maggie Fick in Cairo.
Followers of Egyptian Salafist preacher Hazem Abu Ismail protest outside a police station after security agents raided his office in Cairo December 16, 2012. The raid followed an attack by Islamists on the offices of an opposition party newspaper on Saturday, as people voted on a new constitution intended to pull the country out of a growing political crisis. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

CAIRO — President Mohammed Morsi's decree on Nov. 22 granting himself nearly unchecked powers and rushing a referendum on a controversial draft constitution has shaken Egypt's political landscape and provoked opposition and protest.

During the ongoing political crisis, Morsi has relied on the support of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic groups while facing increasing pressure from his opponents. Although the liberal opposition is by no means entirely secular, anti-Morsi protesters have chanted against the "government of the Guide," a reference to the influence that the spiritual head of the Brotherhood is perceived to have in Morsi's government.

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