Parrotdies, your questions are all very legitimate. I agree with your point of view in many ways. I can't fully respond to the questions, as I am extremely disturbed & scared right now. Today might be one of the most bloody days in Egypt as Morsi supporters call for demonstrations, while attacks on military forces in Sinai occurred. I have just seen a video on youtube threatening a civil war, suicide bombings & burning christians!!

 

Civil war!! has it come down to this?! this has never happened in the Egyptian history.

 

Not to be carried away by emotions, here's a (long) article trying to explain why all of it has happened

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/07/morsi-brotherhood-lost-egypt-bsabry.html

 

& another one:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/opinion/a-coup-in-egypt-but-backed-by-the-people.html?ref=opinion&_r=1&

Egypt troops kill pro-Morsi marchers

 

 

Egypt troops kill pro-Morsi marchers

 

Egyptian security forces have opened fire on supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, killing three people.

 

The incident occurred as crowds gathered outside the officers' club of the Presidential Guard, where Mr Morsi is believed to be held. The Muslim Brotherhood has been demanding his reinstatement. The army, which removed Mr Morsi in response to widespread unrest, had deployed troops around Cairo.

 

The BBC's Jeremy Bowen at the scene says that after passionate Friday Prayers at the nearby Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, about 2,000 Morsi supporters marched towards the officers' club.

 

Soldiers there warned people not to cross the road. But as the crowd grew, got angrier and pushed forward, the troops opened fire - first into the air, then at the protesters.

 

Our correspondent says he saw one man fall to the ground with blood on his clothes. Mr Morsi's removal followed days of mass protests, largely organised by the Tamarod [Rebel] movement. The protesters accused Mr Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood - to which he belongs - of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes of the majority, and of failing to tackle economic problems.

 

Mr Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, is in detention, as are senior figures in the Brotherhood. Arrests warrants have been issued for some 300 others.

 

Ahead of Friday's rallies by Morsi supporters, the army command said it would not take "arbitrary measures against any faction or political current" and would guarantee the right to protest, as long as demonstrations did not threaten national security.

 

"Peaceful protest and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed to everyone, which Egyptians have earned as one of the most important gains of their glorious revolution," it said.

 

But Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad al-Haddad said the movement was refusing to co-operate with the new leadership and demanded the immediate release of those detained.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23202096

So let me get a couple of things straight (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong):

 

 

1) As Adli Mansour, the transitional president, was sworn following the ousting of Mohamed Morsi, the army has been busy rounding people up.

 

But instead of condemning the arrest of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members (including the group's spiritual leaders) and the forced closure of Islamist media, key opposition figures have been justifying it. Or as the prominent opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei revealingly put it:

 

"They are taking some precautionary measures to avoid violence; well, this is something that I guess they have to do as a security measure." (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/world/middleeast/elbaradei-seeks-to-justify-ouster-of-egypts-president.html)

 

Interesting stance to take whilst also claiming to be dedicated to building consensus and inclusion – including for the Brotherhood.

 

 

 

 

2) Meanwhile, it's sending the message to the Brotherhood and Islamists – already insular and defensive after years of persecution – a justified grudge to bear about being forcibly ejected from politics.

 

So while they take the streets to protest the opposition's actions, they are attacked by the military. The Brotherhood has always been mocked by al-Qaida and other violent extremists for choosing democratic politics. Now, those same extremists can use this turn of events in Egypt to prove their point. I wonder what the repercussions might be - not only in Egypt but in the region.

 

 

 

3) The 1.5 billion dollar question looms in the air - of course, referring to the amount of foreign aid the US gives to Egypt, the second-largest recipient of American aid after Israel since 1979 (Hmm I wonder why those two countries and that year specifically...)

 

According to US law, it has no choice but to cut off financial assistance to the country if it determines that he was deposed in a military coup (Quick recall: Foreign aid was suspended after Mali's 2012 army coup that removed a democratic president). Egyptian officials quickly argued that what happened was not a coup but a popular uprising - can they still say that with a straight face, after the military actions it took against its own people?

 

 

 

4) Rampant sexual violence is still going on in Egypt.

 

Remember how earlier I gave you the statistic of 91 (reported) sexual attacks in 4 days? On Wednesday night alone, more than 80 women were subjected to mob sexual assaults, harassment or rape. In Tahrir Square since Sunday, when protests against Morsi first began, there have been at least 169 counts of sexual mob crime (keep in mind these are statistics only for Tahrir Square...)

 

"In a typical attack, lines of men push their way through the packed square, surround lone women, and start ripping at their clothes until they are naked. Some women have been violated by men using their hands... We call it the 'circle of hell.'"(http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/05/egypt-women-rape-sexual-assault-tahrir-square)

 

I would really love to hear the opposing viewpoint of all this.

Twitter translates tweets from leading Egyptians

 

Twitter hopes the addition of its auto-translate tool will make its service more appealing to global users

 

Twitter translates tweets from leading Egyptians

 

Tweets from leading Egyptians are being automatically translated as part of a new Twitter service for non-Arabic speakers.

 

As Egypt's military ousted President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday, non-Egyptians were able to read his tweets in their local languages. Other figures being translated included opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei and Arab Spring activist Wael Ghonim. Twitter is using Microsoft Bing translator as an "experiment".

 

President Morsi's last tweet, posted at 21:39 BST on 2 July, was translated as: "Mohammed Morsi confirms its attachment to the constitutional legitimacy and rejected any attempt to break them and call the forces armed pull its ultimatum and rejects any dictates dakhlihaokhargih."

 

The translation tool is clearly not yet 100% accurate and Twitter has not officially launched the service, but in a statement to digital news site AllThingsD it said: "As part of our experiment with tweet text translation, we've enabled translation for some of the most-followed accounts in Egypt, so people around the world can better understand and keep up with what's happening there."

 

Twitter has provided a list of all the Egyptian accounts it is translating, called egypt2013, which has 63 members. The list includes Wael Ghonim, who has more than 1.1 million followers, and Tahrir News, which has more than 900,000 followers.

 

Twitter began its experimental translation service this month, covering European languages such as Italian, French and Spanish, before extending it to Arabic on Wednesday. Social media site Facebook also offers a translate feature for its foreign-language posts, while Google's search engine also offers a translate feature.

 

"I think it opens a lot of chances for independent storytellers and bloggers to make their voice reach a wider audience," Federico Guerrini, a journalist fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, told the BBC.

 

"In the future, activists and bloggers from foreign countries could bypass the filter of Western 'curators' and tell the world live what is happening. Journalists will also have easier access to a number of sources previously unavailable," he added.

 

While Twitter is undoubtedly growing in popularity as an unfiltered news source, research by the University of Edinburgh suggests news wires are still faster than Twitter for breaking news. Dr Miles Osborne, from the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics, said: "Twitter and traditional news outlets each have their strengths in terms of delivering news.

 

"However, Twitter can bring added value by spreading the word on events that we might not otherwise hear about, and for bringing local perspectives on major news items."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23179269

So...

 

This revolution is going super swell.

 

Have you guys picked sides yet?

Have you guys picked sides yet?

I'll go for Murray

 

ElBaradei to become Egyptian PM

 

Leading liberal Egyptian politician Mohamed ElBaradei is to be named prime minister of a new caretaker government, his supporters say.

 

Mena state news agency says he met interim President Adly Mahmud Mansour, three days after the army removed Islamist leader Mohammed Morsi amid growing nationwide unrest. The move has in turn triggered mass unrest by supporters of Mr Morsi. Mr ElBaradei is a former head of the UN nuclear watchdog.

 

He and other party leaders attended a meeting called by Mr Mansour on Saturday. Mr ElBaradei leads an alliance of liberal and left-wing parties, the National Salvation Front. A spokesman for the front told AP news agency that Mr Mansour would swear him in as prime minister on Saturday evening. In a BBC interview on Thursday, Mr ElBaradei defended the army's intervention, saying: "We were between a rock and a hard place."

 

"It is a painful measure, nobody wanted that," he said. "But Mr Morsi unfortunately undermined his own legitimacy by declaring himself a few months ago as a pharaoh and then we got into a fist fight, and not a democratic process."

 

More than 30 people died and about 1,000 were wounded in Friday's protests by Islamist supporters of the deposed president. The Muslim Brotherhood - to which Mr Morsi belongs - has said its followers would remain on the streets until he is restored to office.

 

On Saturday pro-Morsi crowds demonstrated again. Funerals for those who died have also been taking place. The BBC's Kevin Connolly in Cairo says Egypt remains sharply divided between Islamist supporters of Mr Morsi and rival demonstrators who helped force him from office. The latter have called for demonstrations against the Muslim Brotherhood on Sunday.

 

Mr Morsi is in detention, along with some senior Brotherhood figures. He was replaced on Thursday by Mr Mansour - the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court - who promised to hold elections soon but gave no date.

 

The next day Mr Mansour dissolved the upper house - or Shura Council - which had been dominated by Morsi supporters and had served as the sole legislative body after the lower house was dissolved last year. The Tamarod [Rebel] movement - which organised recent anti-Morsi protests - had accused the ousted president of pursuing an Islamist agenda against the wishes of most Egyptians, and of failing to tackle economic problems.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23214310

 

Sorry what exactly am I supposed take away from this?

 

That there's a precocious child speaking in self-serving generalities?

 

Case in point: I thought it was highly ironic that the kid says how the police jailed people ... and then the police goes on to jail members of the Brotherhood.

 

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDSuhhwKiHs]‫??? | ???? ????? ????? ?????? ?????? ????‬‎ - YouTube[/ame]

 

Here's a video of thousands of Morsi supporters taking the streets after the coup. The army then went on to open fire on these protestors.

So, if both sides are doing the wrong thing, how is your side any better?

 

Egypt unrest: Morsi supporters 'shot dead' in Cairo

At least seven people have been killed after the army raided a sit-in staged by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, reports say.

 

One eyewitness from the Muslim Brotherhood told the BBC the army used live ammunition to disperse the crowds in the eastern Nasr City district.

 

Dozens of people were injured and taken to a nearby makeshift hospital.

 

Mr Morsi, Egypt's first Islamist president, was removed by the army last week after mass protests against him.

 

Eyewitnesses say the army raided the sit-in the Presidential Guards Club, where Mr Morsi is believed to be held, at about 04:00 (02:00 GMT) as many of the protesters were performing dawn prayers.

 

Egyptian media report that the army and police forces opened fire after a group of demonstrators tried to climb the walls of the club.

 

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Mostafa el-Khatib told the BBC's Ahmed Maher in Cairo that he saw seven dead bodies in the hospital with gunshots to their chests and heads.

 

The army has so far made no comment on the claim.

 

On Sunday, tens of thousands of both supporters and opponents of Mr Morsi rallied in many Egyptian cities.

 

Mr Morsi was replaced on Thursday by Adly Mansour - the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court - who promised to hold elections soon but gave no date.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23222546

 

 

Oh boy... this is already getting super ugly.

 

 

Edit: The numbers I'm now hearing: 34 people killed, 500 injured during dawn prayers. :stunned:

 

 

Edit: Reports: Al Nour Party has pulled out of coalition government over "massacre" in Cairo.

Morsi and his supporters supported violence too.

 

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75868/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Morsi,-Brotherhood-leaders-to-be-interrogat.aspx

 

Sexual harassment: About 83 percent of women had been sexually harassed, according to a 2008 study by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights. The number rose to 99.3 percent in 2013, according to a U.N. Women report released in May. Nearly half of victims believed the problem has worsened since the 2011 revolution. About 83 percent of the women surveyed said they do not feel safe in the street.

 

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/islamists/article/morsi-meter-9427-protests-and-counting-one-year-later

 

Morsi was behind a lot of violence and death. So playing that angle doesn't work to make one side look bad. I'm not saying there haven't been mistakes, that comes along with any major movement, especially when the majority of the people are pushed back by a counter-movement. This comes down to the majority of the people standing up to a corrupt leader who was taking away power from them and setting up another dictatorship. Giving him more time would only have made him stronger, and less likely for the Egyptian people to take back their nation.

 

I support a people's right to stand up to a evil government. However, if the military takes it too far, which is always a possibility with men who are trained to kill for a living, then my support will change. But I don't see the alternative, we can have Morsi allowing murder behind the scenes, or the military doing it in the public's eye. Both ways lots of innocent people will suffer, with a chance ofa new election and possibly someone better in office and the military out, there could be a chance of this stopping. But for now if Morsi stayed in office, these horrible things would continue.

I hoped the Muslim Brotherhood wasn't an extremist organization. I was tired of people fearing everything Muslim and blindly hating them. I actually thought, they were going to be more moderate than what they turned out to be.

 

Homicide rates tripled since 2011. The people were dying under Morsi too. If that video was correct, women would have less rights under Morsi and be in danger of being beaten or killed by their husbands and it would be legal. Can you blame the people for wanting new elections and a new government?

Buckle up because here's a classic para-para-parrotdies post:

 

Morsi and his supporters supported violence too.

 

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75868/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Morsi,-Brotherhood-leaders-to-be-interrogat.aspx

 

All I see from this is that Egypt's prosecutors plan to interrogate Morsi and supporters over their role in 2011 uprising. Ok? Can you provide evidence that they were in fact directly responsible?

 

Morsi was behind a lot of violence and death.

 

Adopting this line of thinking for just a second: assuming that there is a new democratically elected president in Egypt, would he be held responsible if there are crimes under his rule? By your logic, the people should take the streets and revolt again, no?

 

I'm not saying there haven't been mistakes, that comes along with any major movement, especially when the majority of the people are pushed back by a counter-movement.

 

Now that the Al-Nour party dropped out of the coalition over the massacre, do the protestors still have the majority? Remember: the Al-Nour party received the 2nd highest amount of votes after the Muslim Brotherhood. They're also one of the central parties in the revolution: just forced the retraction of the plan to announce ElBaradei as interim prime minister.

 

This comes down to the majority of the people standing up to a corrupt leader who was taking away power from them and setting up another dictatorship.

 

I asked this earlier and I'll ask again: why didn't the people just vote on the constitutional referendum?

 

However, if the military takes it too far, which is always a possibility with men who are trained to kill for a living, then my support will change.

 

How do you feel about the military gunning down Morsi supporters during dawn prayers?

 

I hoped the Muslim Brotherhood wasn't an extremist organization.

 

Can you point to evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood is an extremist organization? Last time I checked they were mocked by Islamist extremists for agreeing to participate in an election.

 

I was tired of people fearing everything Muslim and blindly hating them.

 

Woah be careful. Egypt is predominantly Muslim (94.7%). The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist party. Huge difference.

 

Can you blame the people for wanting new elections and a new government?

 

Wanting new elections and a new government? No.

Taking the streets and staging a coup? Yes.

 

 

Also big question I want to ask you: in your opinion, is this a coup or not?

I'm not a blind supporter, if it turns out that people are being ordered to commit war crimes, then I won't support the military. I still support the average person who stood up to another ruthless man becoming a dictator and threatening the people. I will not support, if they go that path (not just rogue elements), people who replace the last government with someone worse. I'm not pro Egyptian military here, i'm pro Egyptian people wanting rights that were being taken away from them and more control in their government. THis could turn bad, quickly. I'm well aware of that, but that doesn't mean the original cause was wrong, just how they may go about it.

 

 

 

Adopting this line of thinking for just a second: assuming that there is a new democratically elected president in Egypt, would he be held responsible if there are crimes under his rule? By your logic, the people should take the streets and revolt again, no?

 

No, my line of thinking if they commit massive crimes against the population. Every leader commits crimes, and it would be impossible to go after any leader for that. However, when the crimes are great enough, and pose more risk in the future to the majority, then they have a right. So my logic is, if it goes against the people on a massive scale, they have a right to stand up for their freedom and safety and fight corruption.

 

Now that the Al-Nour party dropped out of the coalition over the massacre, do the protestors still have the majority? Remember: the Al-Nour party received the 2nd highest amount of votes after the Muslim Brotherhood. They're also one of the central parties in the revolution: just forced the retraction of the plan to announce ElBaradei as interim prime minister.

 

This is a clear problem. But it's a problem not with standing up to tyranny but to how it's done. I hope they sort this out peacefully and realize they're no better than Morsi if they don't do this peacefully.

 

I asked this earlier and I'll ask again: why didn't the people just vote on the constitutional referendum?

 

That doesn't matter, just because someone didn't voice an opinion once for whatever reason, doesn't mean they forfeit it. They voted now with their actions.

 

How do you feel about the military gunning down Morsi supporters during dawn prayers?

 

The same way I feel about Morsi having people killed, or legally allowing men to beat and kill their wives.

 

Can you point to evidence that the Muslim Brotherhood is an extremist organization? Last time I checked they were mocked by Islamist extremists for agreeing to participate in an election.

 

At first, I thought people were just scaremongering when they were against the Muslim Brotherhood because in the west, the majority hate and fear anything Muslim. Note I'm not saying they speak for all of Islam, but any Islamic group, even the most moderate are often hated and feared by the west just because they are Muslim.

 

The crimes committed by the Muslim Brotherhood are growing by the day, and despite their ugliness, they reveal the true nature of the Brotherhood. Egyptians discovered that the Brotherhood has nothing to do with religion. The people have discovered their treachery, their lies and their betrayal of the revolution. The Brotherhood are nothing more than [another face of] Mubarak’s regime. We have replaced Mubarak with another repressive regime that has commercialized religion. We have replaced military fascism with religious fascism. The rule of the Brotherhood will soon fall, and they will be tried for all these crimes. The revolution will continue until its goals are achieved, God willing.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/culture/2013/03/muslim-brotherhood-torture-egypt.html

 

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/67939/Opinion/Egypt%E2%80%99s-Muslim-Brotherhood-A-project-of-patriarcha.aspx

 

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/03/egypt-falling-apart-brotherhood.html

http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/islam/blfaq_islam_brotherhood.htm

 

There is much evidence that the government put in place, did nothing but horrible things to the people. They have a right to fight extremism, even if that means arresting people guilty of torture and murder, even if they are the party in power.

 

Woah be careful. Egypt is predominantly Muslim (94.7%). The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamist party. Huge difference.

 

Stop being so pretentious, I know full well the percentage of Muslims in Egypt. Stop trying to twist my words around. I was attacking people who blindly hate anything Muslim and said nothing about them being the majority of Muslims. My point is people in the west often hate anything Muslim, not matter if they're a small party or large, extremist or moderate. It's western fear mongering against anything that is remotely different. With that being said, there has been evidence that the MB is an extremist party that committed many crimes, not by rogue elements but throughout the party.

 

 

Also big question I want to ask you: in your opinion, is this a coup or not?

 

That is immaterial because it was led by the people in mass. It wasn't a small rogue element doing a power grab, at least it didn't start that way. It started as a movement by the majority oppressed by an extremist government, fighting for their rights that were being attacked. If this was a small group, i'd be against it. They have a right to arrest members of the thrown out party if they were doing illegal things against the people. Now, if murdering protesters becomes the policy, and not just the actions of a rogue element, then I won't support the what is happening now, but still will support the people's right to stand up and take control of THEIR nation.

 

 

Following your own logic, you should be Anti-Morsi too and support putting Mubarak back into power.

Do you think the Obama administration should cut off foreign aid to Egypt pursuant to Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act?

 

It stipulates: "none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to this Act shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by a military coup or decree.”

YES. We should cut off our money to most nations. We don't need to create enemies over seas with our empire while we're bankrupt. We need to end our empire and stop supporting terrorist and dictators around the world. We're hated because of who we fund/support and our military empire.

YES. We should cut off our money to most nations. We don't need to create enemies over seas with our empire while we're bankrupt. We need to end our empire and stop supporting terrorist and dictators around the world. We're hated because of who we fund/support and our military empire.

 

I recognize that I'm somewhat taking the conversation on a tangent but I think it's super interesting.

 

If the US does pull foreign aid to Egypt:

 

1) How do you think it will affect Egypt's economy?

 

2) How do you think it will affect US-Egypt relations? Or even Egypt-Israel relations?

 

3) How do you think it will affect the transition to a new government, assuming Egypt doesn't end up in civil war?

That's not our concern. Our money doesn't go to the benefit of the average Egyptian. In fact, the stipulations it brings with it, hurt the average person in the countries we send "aid" to. The people in the long run will be much better off without American influence and involvement.

 

That's not our business how it affects their relations with Israel. US-Egyptian relations are shit, and would in the end be the best if we left them alone.

Are you American? I feel like you're a hardcore republican. But I haven't seen much of your opinion to really say that with any confidence.

 

This is off topic, I hate arguing with someone that has the best username on here.

Now that the Al-Nour party dropped out of the coalition over the massacre, do the protestors still have the majority? Remember: the Al-Nour party received the 2nd highest amount of votes after the Muslim Brotherhood. They're also one of the central parties in the revolution: just forced the retraction of the plan to announce ElBaradei as interim prime minister.

 

 

just to clear things up, AL Nour party wasn't a central party in the revolution against Mubarak's regime. In fact the salafis were against going out against any leader & say it is prohibited religiously. They were never a part of the political scene. After the 25th january revolution, they (& many other movements) founded what is now called islamic parties. Before that, political parties were not allowed to be founded on a religious basis.

People did not know them, but some voted for them just because they seem religious, which translates in many people's mind that they are rightious, not thieves, etc.

Now many of Al nour party members have left him to join the supporters of Morsi in Rabia because they are being told (by their leaders) that this a war against islam & that they should be martyrs defending it.

 

How do you feel about the military gunning down Morsi supporters during dawn prayers?

 

 

Please note that this the way one side looks at things. It's impossible now to find a reliable source of news that is biased or lying. Not to mention the huge amount of rumours spread all over the news channels. The protesters in Rabia were never harmed since they began protesting even before 30 June. The people killed today after dawn prayers (dawn prayers is at 3:15 am & won't last till 4 am) were next to a military building, they think it hosts Morsi & wanted to get him out. One of their public figures even mentioned in a video that there will be escalating measures to get him out of there no one should expect them.

Some of them were armed & fired against the police & army. (seen in videos)

There are 51 deaths, besides the deaths from the army forces. that is a huge number by all means. I am devastated. It's a fight over power that uses religion & people as its fuel. The leaders of this fight will eventually negotiate & come out unharmed, while many ordinary people will have lost their lives or their loved ones.

Quoting Safy, "There are 51 deaths, besides the deaths from the army forces. that is a huge number by all means. I am devastated. It's a fight over power that uses religion & people as its fuel. The leaders of this fight will eventually negotiate & come out unharmed, while many ordinary people will have lost their lives or their loved ones."

How sad, here as the saying goes "now lets see you and him fight" as a way of saying that the powerful use groups of us as pawns. What seems totally missing from this is the normal path to legitimate trial of a leader, and the subordination of the military to civilian rule. If there is reason to suspect that President Morsi has violated the rights of Egyptian citizens, then there should be a process to examine the evidence and establish an impartial jury to determine whether or not serious rights or laws have been violated, and if rights or laws have been violated, then determine if the violation warrants removal from office. Having a military coup seriously erodes democracy, though I wonder if the government's plan, checks and balances, and protections of rights were created in a manner to ensure fairness. Still, it's a matter for the citizens to resolve it would seem, not for the military to simply undercut.

That way takes way too long, while everyone knows he's committing horrible crimes and it's hurting the Egyptian people.

 

What is democracy but the will of the people? And the people willed this, not some small portion or group. They made a mistake in the first election and are now taking it back and setting up another election. If a government is elected but betrays the people, the masses have a right to remove them and vote again.

 

The military didn't just step in for it's own sake, it stepped in because the majority of the nation demanded Morsi to be removed. Now they're going to set up another election, not a military dictatorship. This wasn't a move by a military, but a movement by the people assisted by the military, there's a difference.

Fine by me, but there ought to be a civilian process to allow for such a new government to be determined; a convention of sorts, a mass recall petition, or something like that. Otherwise, it appears more like a military coup, which wants to mold and shape a government to it's leader's liking. Once a precedent like that is set, military coups become all too common, and with them the threat of military dictatorships.

So remember when the anti-Morsi protestors took the streets to protest how the constitution was based on Sharia law?

 

 

 

Egypt's Maspero Youth Union says constitutional declaration 'shocking'

The Coptic group says constitutional declaration does not uphold religious and cultural diversity

 

Egypt's Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic activist group, has expressed its opposition to the constitutional declaration issued on Monday by interim president Adly Mansour.

 

In a statement released Tuesday, the group described the 33-article declaration, which outlines the roadmap for the transitional period expected to last six months, as "shocking."

 

"The [constitutional declaration] is not compatible with the ideals of the 30 June uprising... that went out for a civil state that upholds religious and cultural diversity," the statement read.

 

The declaration was criticised for its first article that states that the Arab Republic of Egypt is a democratic system based on citizenship, that Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic is its official language and the principles of sharia law derived from established Sunni canons are its main source of legislation.

This article combines Articles 1, 2 and 219 of the suspended constitution. The latter was added by Islamists to outline the meaning of "principles of Islamic sharia" mentioned in the second article.

 

In Egypt's previous 1971 constitution, article two also stated that the principles of sharia are the primary source of legislation, but added no more details.

 

This has long caused debate on the validity of stating specific religious sources for the country's legislation.

 

"[On 30 June] we went out to bring down their failed constitution that built a state of hate and violence," the Coptic group said in the statement.

 

"We did not take to the streets to give legitimacy to religious-based political parties that were about to erase Egypt's identity," the statement continued.

 

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/76182/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Maspero-Youth-Union-says-constitutional-dec.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

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