Islamists Call for Shariah Law at Massive Egyptian Demonstration

Calls for Shariah Law at Egyption Protest

Tens of thousands of demonstrators pack Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo on Friday, July 29, 2011. (Media credit: Egyptian Gazette)

CAIRO (The Blaze/AP) — Ultraconservative Muslims turned out in force Friday as tens of thousands filled Cairo’s central Tahrir Square in a rally marked by a growing rift in the protest movement.

In one of the largest crowds to fill the square since the popular uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February, Salafis chanted for the implementation of strict Islamic law – spurring accusations that they violated an agreement to keep the rally free from divisive issues.

The decision by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s best organized political force, and other Islamist groups to participate significantly boosted the turnout. These groups stayed away from recent demonstrations that sought to keep up pressure on the military council that took power after Mubarak’s fall, leading to smaller crowds.

But the Islamists’ participation also highlighted the growing rift between them and liberal activists. Some Islamist groups rallied their members to the square to oppose the adoption of a set of guidelines for drafting a new constitution after parliamentary elections later this year.

Liberal parties endorse the measure in an effort to limit what they fear will be outsized Islamist influence on the new document should religious groups win a large share of the parliament. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has accepted the idea.

Islamists oppose it, saying nothing should restrict the right of the new elected parliament to oversee the process of drafting the document.

While opposing the measure, Muslim Brotherhood members did not press the issue Friday due to an agreement between organizers to avoid divisive issues.

Crowds of ultraconservative Salafis, however, gave a common protests chant an Islamic twist – sparking criticisms from others who said the chants violated an agreement to avoid divisive issues.

Instead of “Peaceful, peaceful,” which demonstrators have chanted during confrontations with security forces, they repeated “Islamic, Islamic.“ And instead of ”The people want to topple the regime” – a chant made famous in Tunisia and adopted across the region – they yelled, “The people want to implement Sharia,” a strict form of Islamic law.

Salafis are ultraconservatives, close to Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi interpretation of Islam and more radical than the Brotherhood. They seek to emulate the austerity of Islam’s early days and oppose a wide range of practices like intermingling of the sexes that they view as “un-Islamic.” Many also reject all forms of Western cultural influence.

Islamic protests elsewhere in Egypt turned violent.

In the Sinai city of al-Arish, hard-line Salafis fired rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy weapons in the air during protests, injuring a small boy, according to an intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.

In the southern city of Assiut, deputy police chief Yosri el-Jammasi said Salafist protesters beat up a group of protesters from the Communist party trying to join their demonstration. At one point, some in the crowd yelled back at a speaker who criticized the idea of constitutional guidelines.

All protesters agree on a number of other key demands, including the end of military trials for civilians, a clear schedule for the transition to civilian rule and swift trials for former regime officials and those accused of killing protesters during the uprising, which left about 850 people dead.

The rally comes a day after Egypt’s Justice Ministry said Mubarak, along with his two sons, his former security chief and seven others, will be tried at a Cairo convention center.

Of the 11, Mubarak, his security chief – former Interior Minister Habib el-Adly – and six top police officers are charged with ordering the use of deadly force against protesters. If convicted, the eight could face the death penalty.

Mubarak, his sons Gamal and Alaa and businessman Hussein Salem also face corruption charges. Salem, a close friend of Mubarak’s, is at large.

The announcement had little apparent effect on Friday’s protest, mostly because most activists doubt Mubarak will actually stand trial Wednesday as planned.

Mubarak’s lawyer and doctors treating him in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh have repeatedly reported that the 83-year-old ousted leader’s health is failing, though Egypt’s health ministry said he is fit enough to stand trial.

Comments (173)

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  • AvengerK
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:17pm

    mmmm smell that Arab spring. I’m sure that CNN reporter who was sexually assaulted in the “euphoria” of ousting Moubarak, is keen to go back and cover this “organic, peaceful, peoples’ movement” again..right? Apparently with Barry being focused like a laser on jobs (yeah..I couldn’t keep a straight face typing that either) he didn’t realise that the ONLY organized political group in the melee was the Muslim Brotherhood…who are champing at the bit to install Sharia Law in Egypt. Once again Obama “leading” from behind.

    Report Post »  
    • DeliverUsFromEvil
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:42pm

      “Coming to a neighborhood near you”

      Report Post »  
    • Edct
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:45pm

      It is really a shame that these people are so poor and ignorant as to believe in such a cult of murder and terrorism….islam is truly a cult of evil from Satan.

      Report Post »  
    • beckwasfox
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:45pm

      This is what liberlism brings. remember when Beck predicted this was going to happen and how the lamestream media said he was crazy and fear mongering? Beck is proven right, once again. I don’t know how anyone can smear Beck, while getting their news from MSNBC and NY Times and still consider themselves intellectually honest. Actually I do…liberalism is a mental disorder!

      Report Post » beckwasfox  
    • fertlmind
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:48pm

      So much for the fledgling democracy Obamma promised us in Egypt.
      They will be on the terror watch list and have terrorist training camps aimed at our destructionand the destruction of Israel soon enough.
      Obamma is a demon.

      Report Post » fertlmind  
    • muhamadhater
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:49pm

      And we are giving them 20 million..for what? shame on this president, what a freakin loser…actually I guess its all Americans that are losers, cause we let this idiot run our country!!! wow depression sets in…next it will be sharia law in a neiborhood near u!! God help us!!
      God bless all NON islamic coutries!!
      start training now America…cause it will be survival of the fittest!!
      But hey..we will win as God is on our side…Good will always prevail over evil!! Its what it will cost that worries me!!

      Report Post » muhamadhater  
    • Cesium
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 2:16pm

      @EDTC You think just like them.! christian and islamist both think the same.. it’s all about living life for death… opposite of judaism

      Report Post »  
    • Ephelia
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 2:47pm

      It was at a gathering like that that poor Lara Logan was violently assaulted. A couple of hundred men apparently thought it was ok because no one did anything about it for a very long time.

      A friend of ours was repeatedly cat called and shown porn on a cell phone just walking down the street in Cairo dressed normally. She said that was normal treatment for a woman dressed in anything less than a sleeping bag.

      We haven’t heard much from Lara.

      She should speak out and say that Egyptian society is festered with misogeny and hatred of women.

      One thing is for sure, we won’t hear much from the marxist-feminists of the West about this.

      Where is the candel-light vigil, the delegation to the UN, the conference of academics to let the feminists address the treatment of women in the middle east? Oh right, there isn’t one.

      Report Post » Ephelia  
    • its_time_to_arrest_our_government
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 3:41pm

      looks like a good place for a mushroom cloud!

      Report Post »  
    • Sage0925
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 4:34pm

      Be careful what you wish for…you may get it, and you won’t like it.

      Anybody remember Iran? Who wanted the Shah out, so that they could have a theocracy (yes, yes, I know, there were also a few other reasons)? And my, my…lookie where they are today. Protesting against their government. How’s that working out for you, there, guys?

      They want sharia now, and I‘m certain they’ll get it eventually…until the religion police come knocking at the door to bust them for something, like watching the wrong program on TV (Somalia, anyone?) then they’ll all be screaming for freedom from oppression.

      I have no use for any of them. You reap what you sow.

      Report Post »  
    • Curator_JDR
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 5:08pm

      No new here folks!
      Israel National Radio Interview: http://www.marcrubin.com/judean-eve.ivnu

      Report Post » Curator_JDR  
    • My Two Cents
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 5:27pm

      Just one among many of Obama’s epic failures which will come back to haunt us in spades.

      Report Post »  
    • Annette
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 7:05pm

      I really wish I would have been able to see the pyramids in my lifetime. so much for that!

      Report Post »  
    • ree758
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 9:02am

      Libya‘s next if we don’t get out. Let,s just hope that Arab spring doesn’t turn into “Nuclear Winter”

      Report Post »  
  • Rodney777
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:16pm

    Pssss: Israel time for a nuke hurry before they go home!

    Report Post » Rodney777  
  • tmplarnite
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:12pm

    NUKE ‘em!

    Report Post »  
  • Sargon
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:10pm

    I always wanted to visit Egypt on vacation. That’s not gonna happen now.

    Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:21pm

      Part of me says it’s their country, let them decide their own politics, and part of me knows that Sharia spreads like a cancer and if it gets a foothold in one country, they’ll want more.

      Report Post »  
  • nysparkie
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:06pm

    Here is the BIG FAN.. Now where is the POOP!

    Report Post » nysparkie  
    • DrFrost
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:10pm

      Obama seems to gladly be helping provide both.

      Report Post »  
    • Southernguy
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:44pm

      Just waitin’ on someone to plug it into the wall ;)

      Report Post » Southernguy  
    • JCoop
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 2:29pm

      Obama is providing both, and both are being given away for free to illegals after you and I paid for it.

      Report Post »  
    • OneShotPagan
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 9:43pm

      My Friend … you have it backwards … the poop is in place, the fan is yet to arrive …

      Report Post » OneShotPagan  
  • TX_45_ACP
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:05pm

    Now THAT is the democracy that White House was talking about!

    Report Post » TX_45_ACP  
    • mikelivi
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:13pm

      Ah the arab spring….so very peaceful………..Odumbo is such an idiot!!!!!!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • Son_of_Liberty
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:33pm

      “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson

      3%

      Report Post » Son_of_Liberty  
    • nobama4ever
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:07pm

      With the muslime brotherhood taking the power where is the freedom for the people of Egypt? Majority of them will be forced to lose their freedom. This is what odumbo wanted to happen. This islamic socialist in the WH is doing everything possible to let the Sharia takes over the world rapidly. So much for hope and change. This clueless odumbo should be thrown out in 2012.

      Report Post »  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:55pm

      That’s exactly what it is. And notice the muslim brotherhood is indeed to the left of this group[and and therefore indicates the brotherhood is indeed a lberation movement for previously subjugated by western colonialismaand later proxy american backed ddictatorshipand is NOT committed to strict arabia style sharia.]Anyway let the disparate movements and parties work it out. Sharia can be interpreted any way they choose;it’s their country and good that finally even fundamentalits are allowed to express their beliefs[ inder our lakey they would have been torture,inorisined and or killed just for expressing their funndamentalists view]This then is progerss.Freedom of expression. And thaose arabia style wahabis are not near a majority in egypt. The majority of people are young and westernized and educated enough that they will reject a fundamentalist wahabi society though elements of their islamic traditions probobly are valued by the even the young people[they're arabs ,not americans after all]..Let the people work it out;we don’t own them or their land.Long live the arab spring and the rights of indigenous arabs for self determination!

      Report Post »  
    • jamesctheman
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 3:07pm

      Amen. Change Obama can believe in is happening has taken hold in N.Africa. He must be so proud. I wonder if this will be the first time Michelle is proud of Egypt? Sign up at Friends of the IDF. Get ready ause the waves are coming.

      Report Post » jamesctheman  
    • mgj48
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 9:58pm

      Agree . That is O’s idea of our future.

      Report Post »  
  • N34W118
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:04pm

    See what happens when you let the camel put his nose in the tent !!!

    Report Post » N34W118  
    • Southernguy
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:45pm

      Then the happy rag head sneaks around behind the camel with a jar of vaseline?

      Report Post » Southernguy  
    • nobama4ever
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:10pm

      Are you talking about odumbo?

      Report Post »  
    • llotus
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 3:15pm

      Roseann……you are insane. Lotus.

      Report Post »  
    • llotus
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 3:18pm

      Rose ellen………sorry I mispelled your name. You need to drag your irrational *** back where ever you came from. You are obviously on the wrong site. Get a grip girl….your losen it. Major melt down. Lotus.

      Report Post »  
  • michaele6
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:03pm

    I note here that the liberal/communist and islamic radicals are in conflict, what’s with that? I thought I heard that somewhere before….oh, yeah! I miss beck!!!

    Report Post » michaele6  
  • I_Hate_Libs
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:03pm

    Hey Google nice work morons.

    The horror of the Democrat mind.

    Report Post »  
  • turkey13
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:02pm

    I bet the queers and lizzies don’t show up! Twelve dump truck loads of rocks were delivered yesterday for todays big party. Probably the lissie congresswoman that was fired by her constituits last November and is malking the rounds over there won’t be there. If she shows up she had best be in a full burka and keep a low profile.

    Report Post »  
  • N34W118
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:02pm

    Radical Islam is not perverting the Muslim religion. Islam is perverted, Mohammad was perverted, and their religion is nothing more than a perverted political theology. They need to be crushed by all those they want to crush. They’re all sick with Islamic fever and it’s time to inoculate them with …………………………..

    Report Post » N34W118  
    • nysparkie
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:08pm

      I’m with you on this

      Report Post » nysparkie  
    • Wes Hardin
      Posted on July 31, 2011 at 4:08pm

      If you want perversion read the Jewish Babylonian Talmud, the Old Testament, The Koran, and the Book of Mormon. After you finish those will be a raving lunatic.

      Report Post »  
  • TRONINTHEMORNING
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:02pm

    The lib losers at their best.

    Report Post »  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:02pm

    Yeah well soon Iraq will be best friends with Iran, good work Bush.

    Report Post » mossbrain  
  • Dismayed Veteran
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:00pm

    What a surprise. The Caliphate is just around the corner and our troops are cut off. The “Arab Spring” is in full force and freedom has nothing to do with it.

    Report Post » Dismayed Veteran  
    • Meyvn
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:04pm

      Sha’riah. Meet the sister of Gonah and Diah.

      Report Post » Meyvn  
  • Liberal Media Dropped Ball On Nine-Eleven
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:00pm

    CNN and Anderson Cooper are currently rejoicing and sipping champagne to these unfolding events.

    Report Post » Liberal Media Dropped Ball On Nine-Eleven  
  • michaelmoron
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:58am

    Is it any wonder ?? This is what will happen everywhere in the world when Muslims are the majority. These Liberal xenophiles that think Americans and the Constitution will coincide with Islam, make me physically ill.

    Report Post » michaelmoron  
    • mossbrain
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:03pm

      Exactly, elect Muslim haters to congress before it’s too late.

      Report Post » mossbrain  
    • Robert-CA
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:17pm

      MOSSBRAIN
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:03pm
      Exactly, elect Muslim haters to congress before it’s too late.
      _____________________________________________
      No you lib loon let’s elect muslim lovers & watch the downfall of America in the hands or radical muslims & communists .
      Ever heard of Londonistan ?

      Report Post » Robert-CA  
  • Rightsofman
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:58am

    Hey Obama/Cinton how’s that “Arab Spring” thing lookin to ya now?!!

    Report Post »  
  • banjarmon
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:56am

    Thanks to BO and Hillary….for picking the wrong side AGAIN!!

    Report Post » banjarmon  
    • michaelmoron
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:06pm

      Don’t kid yourself. They knew what they were doing, all along.

      Report Post » michaelmoron  
  • Spinolio
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:56am

    I wonder where that Google guy is that helped start this… Hmmm?

    Report Post » Spinolio  
    • totallyfedup2
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:43pm

      @Spinolio
      In the White House!

      Report Post » totallyfedup2  
    • Southernguy
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:48pm

      Yep, with a big smile on his face.

      Report Post » Southernguy  
    • lylejk
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 1:42pm

      One of the main reasons why I don’t use Google as my main search engine. They have way too many radicals in their ranks and worse, they push an agenda that is counter to what my beliefs are. Don’t like my searches tracked either so I like using ixquick. :)

      http://www.ixquick.com/

      Report Post » lylejk  
  • sWampy
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:56am

    Sept 12th, 2001 we should have solved the Muslim problem once and for all, 13 nukes could have rid the world of close to 75% of all the terrorists on the planet. It would have been much better for mankind to have eliminated 1.1 billion back then, than 1.65 billion now, or the 2+ billion there will be 10 years from now. Sometimes, it’s just best no matter how painful to go ahead and cut cancer out before it infects your entire body.

    Report Post »  
    • Tyr
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 2:11pm

      Careful Swampy, when I suggest such things here on The Blaze the moderators punish me and won’t post my comments for a few days and the others poster threaten to pray for me.

      Report Post » Tyr  
  • Profx72
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:56am

    “I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution.” – Ulysses S. Grant

    Be careful what you wish for, Egypt!
    http://www.maverickvoice.com

    Report Post »  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:54am

    It appears they need a a Knights Templar movement over there. in hoc signo vinces.

    Report Post » mossbrain  
    • rose-ellen
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 3:03pm

      Dream your knights templar fantasies while those liberated egyptian muslims do their thing.And the ones here too.

      Report Post »  
  • 13th Imam
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:53am

    Ah, Can’t you just smell that fresh Arab Spring air?? Hillary, how are you and that brilliant chap in the Whitehouse going to react to the new Egypt? Much like Nasser’s dream for Egypt, as being the leader of a Sharia Law ruled , Musselman Caliphate. ( Again Glenn was correct)

    Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • sWampy
      Posted on July 29, 2011 at 12:14pm

      They love it, they applaud all that is bad for this nation.

      Report Post »  
  • cloudsofwar
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:52am

    And?

    Report Post »  
  • I.Gaspar
    Posted on July 29, 2011 at 11:51am

    Nice going, Barry.
    Another feather in your cap.

    Report Post »  
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