Egypt's Coptic Christians fleeing country after Islamist takeover

Tens of thousands of Egyptian Christians are leaving the country in the wake of the Egyptian revolution and subsequent Islamist takeover of politics, priests and community leaders say.

 

Coptic Christian churches in the United States say they are having to expand to cope with new arrivals, as priests in cities like Cairo and Alexandria talk of a new climate of fear and uncertainty.

"Most of our people are afraid," Father Mina Adel, a priest at the Church of Two Saints in Alexandria said. "Not a few are leaving - for America, Canada and Australia. Dozens of families from this church alone are trying to go too."

Father Mina's church has an important place in the history of the Arab Spring. It was struck by a car bomb on New Year's Eve 2010, Egypt's worst sectarian attack in recent decades, in which 23 people were killed.

After the bombing, liberal Muslim groups staged protests in support of Christians, printing posters showing the cross and the crescent interlinked which then went on to be symbols of inter-faith unity during the Tahrir Square protests three weeks later.

But the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in parliamentary and presidential elections has changed the mood - particularly as the biggest opposition party is the even more hardline Salafist movement which wants strict Sharia law implemented.

There were 2 Coptic churches in the United States 40 years ago, whereas there are now 200.

The most recent opened in Arlington, outside Washington, last year. "We are trying to accommodate all of the new arrivals," said Atef Yacoub, a member of the area's Coptic community. "People are coming and staying by applying for asylum or seeking employment visas."

The United States, like other countries, does not distinguish visa applications by religion, so there are no absolute figures. One estimate put the number of Coptic emigrants in 2011 at 100,000, of whom more than 40,000 went to the US.

"There is no body counting those who leave the country, neither on the Coptic side nor on the part of our embassies abroad, so it's all just guesswork," said Ahmed el-Qoasni, former assistant foreign minister for Egyptians abroad.

For most Christians, estimated to number between 6-8 million of Egypt's 85 million population, flight is not an option, and many say the fear of Islamist takeover is worse than the reality so far. Most Christians are as poor as other Egyptians, currently afflicted by an economic as well as political crisis.

Nader said things could improve and he could still change his mind. But he added: "As Christians, we are in God's hands, but I have a daughter, and I want her to be safe too."

EGYPT: Egyptian protesters attacked with molotov cocktails

 

At least 15 people have been injured in Egypt’s capital after attackers fired birdshot and threw Molotov cocktails at people taking part in a sit-in, protesting the country’s new Islamist-backed constitution which has deeply divided the nation.

In the latest case of Egyptian demonstrators being targeted, about a dozen masked assailants attacked the protesters’ camp outside the presidential palace on Saturday. The sit-in was started by the opponents of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi on December 4, amid a fierce debate over the new constitution.

The total number of wounded in the attack stands at 15, including nine members of the security forces and six protesters, AP reports citing paramedic Mohammed Sultan.

Witnesses say the attackers threw Molotov cocktails at the camp, setting some tents on fire.

Egypt’s new constitution has proven extremely divisive, sparking violence across the country. It was passed with a 64 per cent “yes” vote in a referendum last month and was signed into law by President Morsi on December 26.

At least 10 people died in clashes outside the presidential palace on December 5, which broke-out after Morsi supporters attacked the protesters’ sit-in.

EGYPT: Mursi to urge Obama to free sheikh jailed in the U.S. for the World Trade Center attack

The release of an Egyptian blind sheikh, jailed in the United States for the 1993 World Trade Center attack, will be urged by Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi during his upcoming visit to the U.S., the leader said on Monday. 

The announcement follows his pledge, during his presidential campaign earlier this year, to free Omar Abdul Rahman. The preacher is currently serving a life sentence and the planned request for his release appears to be gesture, by Mursi, to Gama’a al-Islamiya, a Salafi group.

Sheikh Rahman is the spiritual leader of Gama’a al-Islamiya, which was involved in the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat but renounced violence in 1997. The group has entered mainstream politics since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled.

In September, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland stressed there was no plan to release him following his trial and conviction.

Mursi told CNN in an interview aired Monday that he was hoping to travel to the United States before the end of March 2013, and he planned to raise the case of Sheikh Rahman with U.S. President Barack Obama. 

"There is no set date yet, but it will most likely be before the end of the first quarter of this year," Mursi said.

It will be the Islamist leader's first visit to the United States since he was elected last year after the overthrow of long-time Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

Relations between the United States and its key regional ally, Egypt, have been complicated since Mursi's election with Washington treading carefully amid a series of controversial and widely criticized moves by Mursi.

Mursi repeated his view of the blind sheikh saying: "I want him to be free." But he added: "I respect the law. And the rule of law in Egypt and the United States."

If the ailing and ageing Abdul Rahman cannot be freed, then Mursi suggested he should be allowed visitation rights with his family and children.

"Is there a chance for him to be freed? I wish this," Mursi said, but if not then "Egypt's relationship with America deserves that these issues be reviewed, if that is okay according to the law."

"If it isn't possible, and I hope that it is possible, if it wasn't possible, then these humane aspects need to be taken into account, for him to be in a humane prison, to be able to have visitors, to be able to have company."

Mursi said he also wanted to discuss other issues with Obama, such as cooperation in scientific research, manufacturing and production, and tourism.

Egypt lawyers: Muslim Brotherhood took $1.5 billion from Obama

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has been accused of taking 10 billion Egyptian pounds (U.S. $1.5 billion) from the American government, according to claims by Egyptian lawyers.

An immediate investigation into the accusation was ordered by Prosecutor General Talaat Abdallah on Thursday. 

The lawyers, Mohamed Ali Abd al-Wahab and Yasser Mohamed Sayab, filed the complaint against the Muslim Brotherhood for the allegedly illegal money transaction, Egypt’s private daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on Jan. 3.

The complaint noted that Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for the recent U.S. presidential election, had said that $1.5 billion was given to support Egypt's Brotherhood by the Obama administration.

In addition, the lawyers accused the Muslim Brotherhood of having armed mercenaries or a “third party,” who have instigated violence during and after the revolutionary uprising in the country.

The armed mercenaries are trained in the desert, which lies between the city of Alexandria and Marsa Matrouh in Egypt, the lawyers alleged.

Egypt - Muslim Brotherhood Vice-Chairman Al-Aryan: Israel to collapse within 10 years

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's advisor and Muslim Brotherhood Vice-Chairman Essam Al-Aryan explained on his Facebook page what he meant when he called upon Jews with an Egyptian background to return to Egypt. "Israel will be erased within 10 years. The Jews conquering the historic Palestinian territories are an obstacle to the Right of Return and it is Israel's fate to collapse in the upcoming years."

"The future name of the country will be Palestine and those who lived there from the beginning will live there and those who conquered it will have to go back to their countries," he said. (Roi Kais)

EGYPT: Muhammad Morsi - Christians Should "Convert, Pay Tribute, or Leave"

"They need to know that conquest is coming, that Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizya or emigrate," Morsi reportedly said.

 

According to the popular Egyptian website, El Bashayer, Muhammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate, just declared that he will "achieve the Islamic conquest (fath) of Egypt for the second time, and make all Christians convert to Islam, or else pay the jizya," the additional Islamic tax, or financial tribute, required of non-Muslims, or financial tribute.

In a brief report written by Samuel al-Ashay and published by El Bashayer on May 27, Morsi allegedly made these comments while speaking with a journalist at the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, adding "We will not allow Ahmed Shafiq [his contending presidential candidate] or anyone else to impede our second Islamic conquest of Egypt."

After his interviewer pointed out that the first Muslim conquest of Egypt was "carried out at the hands of Amr bin al-As [in 641]," he asked Morsi, "Who will the second Islamic conqueror be?" Morsi, replied, "The second Muslim conqueror will be Muhammad Morsi," referring to himself, "and history will record it."

When asked what he thought about many Christian Copts coming out to vote for his secular opponent, Ahmed Shafiq, Morsi reportedly said, "They need to know that conquest is coming, and Egypt will be Islamic, and that they must pay jizya or emigrate."

If this interview is accurate, certainly Morsi would not be the first political Islamist in Egypt to say he wants to see the nation's Christians subjugated and made to pay jizya (see here for more examples).

However, considering that the English language media are currently reporting that Morsi is trying to woo Egypt's Christians and women to win more votes, it is difficult to imagine that he actually made those comments: one does not doubt that he favors the idea of a "second Islamic conquest" and the subjugation of Christians; one doubts that he would be so foolish as to reveal his mind now, publicly, and thereby jeopardize his chances of winning the presidency.

Then again, his remarks are reported in the context of a private meeting at the headquarters of the Brotherhood's political party. Perhaps Morsi thought he was speaking to a fellow Islamist who would not expose him? Perhaps he was frustrated at having to win Copts over and was "venting"? Stay tuned.

Fear keeps Egypt's Christians away from polls

ASSIUT, Egypt (AP) - A campaign of intimidation by Islamists left most Christians in this southern Egyptian province too afraid to participate in last week's referendum on an Islamist-drafted constitution they deeply oppose, residents say. The disenfranchisement is hiking Christians' worries over their future under empowered Muslim conservatives.

Around a week before the vote, some 50,000 Islamists marched through the provincial capital, Assiut, chanting that Egypt will be "Islamic, Islamic, despite the Christians." At their head rode several bearded men on horseback with swords in scabbards on their hips, evoking images of early Muslims conquering Christian Egypt in the 7th Century.

They made sure to go through mainly Christian districts of the city, where residents, fearing attacks, shuttered down their stores and stayed in their homes, witnesses said.

The day of the voting itself on Saturday, Christian voting was minimal - as low as seven percent in some areas, according to church officials. Some of those who did try to head to polling stations in some villages were pelted by stones, forcing them to turn back without casting ballots, Christian activists and residents told The Associated Press this week.

The activists now see what happened in Assiut as a barometer for what Christians' status will be under a constitution that enshrines a greater role for Shariah, or Islamic law, in government and daily life. Even under the secular regime of autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's Christians complained of discrimination and government failure to protect them and their rights. They fear it will be worse with the Islamists who have dominated Egypt's political landscape since Mubarak's ouster in February 2011.

"When all issues become religious and all the talk is about championing Islam and its prophet, then, as a Christian, I am excluded from societal participation," said Shady Magdy Tobia, a Christian activist in Assiut. "If this does not change, things will only get worse for Christians."

But some of the Christians of Assiut are pushing back against the emboldened Islamists. In recent weeks, young Christians joined growing street protests to demand that the charter is shelved, casting aside decades of political apathy.

Assiut province is significant because it is home to one of Egypt's largest Christian communities - they make up about 35 percent of the population of 4.5 million, perhaps three times the nationwide percentage. At the same time, it is a major stronghold of Egypt's Islamists, who now dominate its local government. The province was the birthplace of some of the country's most radical Islamist groups and was the main battlefield of an insurgency by Muslim militants in the 1990s.

It was one of 10 provinces that voted in the first round of Egypt's referendum. Nationwide, around 56 percent voted in favor of the draft charter, according to preliminary results. Assiut had one of the strongest "yes" votes at more than 77 percent. It also had a turnout of only 28 percent - one of the lowest in a round marred by a low participation of only 32 percent nationwide.

The second and final round will held the coming Saturday in 17 provinces, including in Minya, which has the country's highest proportion of Christians, at 36 percent.

Rights groups reported attempts at suppression of the "no" vote in many parts of the country. But Christians say intimidation and suppression are more effective in this smaller, largely rural province.

"In Assiut, we face more danger than in Cairo," said businessman Emad Awny Ramzy, a key organizer of local protests against Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood. "Here they can easily identify, monitor and attack us."

A senior figure of the Gamaa Islamiya - which was once one of the main groups waging the Islamic militant insurgency in Assiut but has since renounced violence and is allied to Morsi's government - dismissed the Christians' allegations of intimidation in the province.

The claims are "just lies and rumors that surface every time we have an election," Assem Abdel-Magued said. The Brotherhood and officials in Morsi's government have similarly dismissed claims of violations around the country.

The draft constitution, finalized by Islamists on a Constituent Assembly despite a boycott by liberals and Christians, has polarized Egypt, bringing out huge rival street rallies by both camps in the past four weeks. Opponents of Morsi accuse him of ramming the document through and, more broadly, of imposing a Brotherhood domination of power. Morsi supporters, in turn, accuse his opponents of seeking to thwart a right to bring Islamic law they say they earned with election victories the past year.

Egypt's main Coptic Orthodox Church and smaller ones have taken an uncharacteristically assertive approach in the constitutional struggle. They withdrew their six members from the Constituent Assembly to protest Islamist domination of the process and later refused to send representatives to a "national dialogue" called for by Morsi.

The new Coptic pope, Tawadros II, enthroned last month, publicly called some of the charter's articles "disastrous."

In response, the Muslim Brotherhood - which usually keeps a moderate tone toward Christians - has turned toward more inflammatory rhetoric.

Senior Brotherhood figure Mohammed el-Beltagi in a newspaper interview this week depicted mass anti-Morsi rallies outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month as mainly made up of Christians, hinting at a Christian conspiracy against the president.

In a recent speech, Safwat Hegazi, a famous Islamist preacher linked to the Brotherhood, warned Christians against joining forces with former Mubarak regime figures to topple Morsi.

"I tell the church, yes, you are our brothers in Egypt, but there are red lines. Our red line is Morsi's legitimacy. Whoever dares splash it with water, we will splash him with blood," he said, using an Arabic saying.

In Assiut, Tobia, Ramzy and other Christian activists spoke of an atmosphere of intimidation ahead of the vote, including the large Islamist march.

They said threatening messages were sent on mobile phones and on social networking sites. During an opposition demonstration on Dec. 7 outside the offices of the Brotherhood's political party in Assiut, suspected Morsi supporters seized six protesters - five Muslims and one Christian - beating them and shaving the head of one.

With tension building up over the last four weeks, many Christian voters registered at polling centers located in predominantly Muslim areas did not vote, fearing violence, they said.

Those who made it to polling centers in districts with significant Christian populations were soon frustrated by the long lines or delays, which activists said was intentional. In some cases, they said, Islamists who had voted elsewhere then went to stand in lines in mainly Christian areas to make them longer, increase delays and prompt Christians to give up and leave.

Two Christian clerics said that outside the province's main cities, only about 12 percent of registered Christian voters left their homes on Saturday to vote and that no more than seven percent were able to cast their ballots. They based the figures on statistics gathered by members of the Coptic Church's youth group who monitored voting across the province. The two clerics spoke on condition of anonymity because of sensitivities over the church role in political issues.

In the Christian village of el-Aziyah, only 2,350 of the village's 12,100 registered voters cast ballots on Saturday, according to acting mayor Montaser Malek Yacoub.

Yacoub is among the growing number of Christians who are pushing back against persecution.

He has taken advantage of the tenuous security situation of the past two years and built two churches without permits and reclaimed a large area of state-owned desert that lies outside the village's boundaries toward a rock mountain. Under Mubarak's rule, Christians rarely received permits to build or renovate churches.

"Let me just tell you this: As far as I am concerned, this is our country and everyone else are guests," he said. But "we're ready to cooperate with anyone who shares Egypt with us."

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Tear gas in Alexandria, Egypt, as constitution protesters and supporters clash (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Egyptian police have fired teargas to disperse clashes in the port city of Alexandria. Thousands of Islamists were met with furious opposition as the first gathered to support Egypt’s new constitution, which enshrines Islamic law in the legal code.

Following Friday prayers, thousands of Alexandria residents rallied in front of Qaed Ibrahim Mosque to "defend [Islamic] scholars and mosques" and to call for Sharia law, Ahram Online reported. The crowd chanted slogans like "the people want the implementation of God's Sharia," and "we sacrifice our soul and our blood for Islam".

Hundreds of opponents of the draft constitution then began flocking into the square. Police had to intervene after the two groups began hurling rocks at each other. Officers tried to form cordons to separate the parties, AFP reported.

Clashes erupted amid the stone-throwing, and the security forces fired tear gas after the police cordons failed to separate the two groups. Over 50 were injured in the violence, Egypt's Healtjh Ministry said.

Egyptian riot police try to quell clashes between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsi in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on December 21, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)

Qaed Ibrahim Mosque was a focal point for violence in Egypt's second-largest city last week. Friday's rally also protested the siege of the mosque during the previous week, which was sparked by a cleric's call for people to vote yes in the constitutional referendum.

The renewed violence comes on the eve of a referendum vote on the controversial constitution – the second and final round of voting is set to take place on Saturday. 

The first round took place previous Saturday, when 50 per cent of the country went to the polls. Unofficial results said the constitution was passed with a narrow majority of 56.5 percent of the vote. 

The opposition slams the new document for being too rooted in Islamist doctrine and not representative of Egypt’s minorities. President Mohamed Morsi claims that the document is necessary to usher in a period of transition in Egyptian politics.

Tensions have been running high in the world's largest Arab nation where the new constitution has effectively split the country in two. Over 120,000 troops and 6,000 tanks had to be deployed around Egypt to protect polling stations and government buildings.

Three weeks ago Morsi assumed new powers that allowed him to take decisions without the review of the judiciary. He was forced to relinquish these extra powerson December 9 to quell public anger after thousands of protesters gathered at Cairo’s presidential palace to decry the new measures.

Egyptian riot police try to quell clashes between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsi in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria on December 21, 2012 (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams)

Egypt: Report: Morsi Suffering From Brain Tumor

Recently installed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is apparently suffering from a brain tumor, Egyptian media reported

Mohammed Morsi

AFP photo

Already saddled with a restive population that appears set on repeating last year's revolution against the regime and mass protests against his style of governing, recently installed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is apparently suffering from a brain tumor, Egyptian media reported Thursday. 

The Al-Wafed newspaper said that the tumor in his brain was currently small, but spreading, and that Morsi needed to have it removed before February. If it was not taken out, his life would be in danger.

The report quoted medical officials said to be familiar with the president's condition, but did not name any specific doctors, and no independent verification was cited. Al-Wafed is considered among the leading newspapers in Egypt opposing Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi's office vociferously denied the report, calling it a “ridiculous lie.” A spokesperson for Morsi said that the government was likely to bring libel charges against Al-Wafed for the story.

Egypt, like many other Arab countries, has a long history of obfuscating the facts about the health of its leaders. Former President Hosni Mubarak, who was deposed in the Egyptian revolution last year and jailed, was subsequently found to have been suffering from a range of maladies that have been ongoing for years, and were only revealed after he was jailed – with attorneys and family pleading for leniency for Mubarak from the new regime because of his poor health.

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Muslim Brotherhood Member Explains To Egyptian TV:Americans Are Cows, Not Cowboys; America is marching toward its death

After all that Obama has done for the Muslim Brotherhood, Muslim Brotherhood Party Mahmoud Khalil crows over what he sees as America's imminent downfall. And of course, that downfall is the Jews' fault -- who else?

All this is not surprising, really, given that the support for the Brotherhood came from the post-American president, who, not coincidentally, has a career-long history of associations with antisemites and foes of Israel.

"Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood Party Member Mahmoud Khalil: Americans Are Cows, Not Cowboys; Jews Control World’s Gold," from MEMRI, September 11 (just posted):

Following are excerpts from an interview with Mahmoud Khalil, a member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which aired on Al-Nas TV on September 11, 2012.

Mahmoud Khalil: Your regular American is not such a great intellectual as we imagine him to be.

Interviewer: He is not interested in politics...

Mahmoud Khalil: He has a huge body. Eats like a pig. He is like a raging bull or a runaway train. America is marching towards its death. It has the greatest debt in the world. The U.S. debt amounts to 32 million miles of $100 banknotes. Its debt consumes 102% of its Gross National Product. America has the largest debt in the world. America is deceiving...

Interviewer: Nevertheless, it is the mightiest power on Earth.

Mahmoud Khalil: Yes, I hear you, but the American citizen is after his best interests, not after values.

[...]

America will disintegrate. This is inevitable. America will go back to civil wars. This is inevitable. America is over. It is a thing of the past. The US banks have dragged one another into crisis. America is involved in global thievery.

[...]

The Jews brought their thieving [nature] to America. They have used all methods of global criminality. The case of the US banks is no less severe than what the Americans did to the blacks and the Indians, or what the English did to the Aborigines in Australia. These people are slaughterers. They are the greatest thugs in history. They are not the cowboys. They are the cows!

The Jews are money merchants. Throw a Jew into the sea, and he will emerge with a fish in his mouth.

[...]

They successfully infiltrated the U.S. political decision-making centers, and then they gained control of the world’s gold or money through the economy.

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Egypt backs Islamist constitution in first round vote

 

Unofficial results say Egypt has backed the controversial sharia-based constitution in the first round of voting, reports Al Arabiya. Voters got behind the document by a narrow margin of 61 percent amid opposition allegations of fraud.

Shortly after polls closed on Saturday night, the opposition group The National Salvation Front issued a statement voicing “deep concern… over the number of irregularities and violations in the holding of the referendum,” accusing the Muslim Brotherhood of fixing the vote.

The group urged voters to vote “no” on the new constitution but stopped short of calling for a boycott of the referendum, which they had previously promised if irregularities were seen in the voting process.

Among the allegations of fraud that The National Salvation Front flagged in a separate document included; a lack of judges to monitor the voting process and reports of members of the Muslim Brotherhood browbeating people into voting “yes” to the new constitution.

Hundreds of Islamist protests subsequently attacked headquarters of opposition party Al-Wafd in Cairo on Saturday night. They used gasoline bombs and birdshot, injuring two people before security forces arrived on the scene to disperse them.

"Just a few minutes ago, hundreds of Abu Ismail's supporters were trying to break the wall of the headquarters and were firing Molotov cocktails at the building." Al-Wafd Chief Editor Majdy Sarhan told Egypt's official news agency, MENA. He stressed that the assailants also damaged nearby parked cars and the façade of the building.

Over 50 percent of Egypt’s registered voters made their way to polls on Saturday to vote for a constitution that has opened rifts among the Egyptian population. The final decision of the new charter will be made next Saturday when the rest of Egypt votes.

The opposition has slammed the new document for being too rooted in Islamist doctrine and not representative of Egypt’s minorities. President Mohammed Morsi claims that the document is necessary to usher in a period of transition in Egyptian politics.

Over 120,000 troops and 6,000 tanks have been deployed around Egypt to protect polling stations and government buildings. 

Tensions have been running high in the world's largest Arab nation where the new constitution has effectively split the country in two. Massive protests hit Egypt’s second largest city of Alexandria on Friday as opposition protesters scuffled with Muslim Brotherhood supporters at the city’s central Mosque.

Three weeks ago Morsi assumed new powers that allowed him to take decisions without the review of the judiciary. He was forced to relinquish these extra powerson December 9 to quell public anger after thousands of protesters gathered at Cairo’s presidential palace to decry the new measures.

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Violent clashes in Egypt’s Alexandria over referendum (Video, Photos)

At least 19 people are reported injured in scuffles between supporters and opponents of Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi in Alexandria, report local media. Tensions have been running high ahead of the constitutional referendum set for Saturday.

Alexandria, Egypt’s second largest city, was engulfed in violence after over 2,000 people rallied around a central mosque in support of the draft constitution. The document is backed by Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, who went ahead with a referendum on the national charter despite the recent unrest in the country.

Prominent preacher Ahmed Mahalawy urged Alexandria worshippers to vote 'Yes' in the constitutional referendum, saying it would bring stability, reports Ahram Online.

This provoked protest from opponents of the draft document, fueling the already volatile situation. Several cars were torched while supporters and opponents of Morsi hurled stones at each other. The fighting slowly spread from the mosque where Friday prayers were held to main roads.

Security forces had to be deployed to the scene. At least four men were arrested and scores of knives were confiscated. Nineteen people were injured in the scuffles, the Associated Press reports.

Curfew hits Cairo after military tanks quell anti-Morsi protests

The Egyptian president has addressed the nation, accusing the foreign-funded opposition of trying to incite violence against his legitimacy. Following the speech, hundreds of protesters stormed and torched the Muslim Brotherhood's Cairo HQ.

The president’s speech, which was aimed at restoring stability in the country, has ignited a new escalation in violence.

Several thousand anti-government protesters have stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, breaking windows and furniture and setting the building on fire.

Protesters also reportedly torched, stormed and looted several Cairo offices of the Freedom and Justice Party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, who responded with stones and Molotov cocktails. While tensions remain high, additional security personnel were deployed to the epicenter of the clashes.

“I separate the legitimate opposition from the vandals who committed violence,” Morsi told the nation. “The opposition thinks Article 6 is a problem. I won’t insist on keeping it, and anyway, the decree ends after the referendum.”

Morsi said he will form a new assembly to write the constitution if the current draft is rejected by the referendum.

Morsi mourned those who died in front of the presidential palace, saying his "heart is bleeding for the loss of innocent lives."

"I feel responsible for the riots in Egypt," he said. "My fellow citizens are one body that cannot be separated or torn apart."

The Egyptian president also attacked those who he says are serving the remnants of the Mubarak regime and trying to bring down the government. He said the reason behind the constitutional declaration was to protect Egypt from such conspiracies.

“These people became rich through the ex-regime and are now spending their fortunes to burn our homeland,” Morsi said, claiming that some of those arrested during the clashes outside the presidential palace have links with opposition parties, while others were paid to add heat to the conflict.

“The ex-regime will not come back again, ever,” Morsi stated.

The president has called for a Saturday meeting with the opposition to defuse the crisis, which he says can only be resolved through dialogue.

Morsi's address follows a wave of heavy clashes beginning on Tuesday between his supporters and opponents, in which at least six people have been killed and over 640 injured. 

A curfew has been introduced in Cairo after the country's military moved in tanks and armored troop carriers to quash the violence in the capital. Several tanks are guarding the presidential palace.

The recent wave of street violence is the worst in Egypt following Morsi's November 22 move to vastly expand his powers.


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Egypt's Christians refuse new president, Mohammed Morsi

 

Egypt’s new president, Mohammed Morsi, has moved into his new office and has started work on forming a new government. Morsi on Sunday was declared the victor in Egypt’s first presidential run-off. 

Father Rafic Greiche, the spokesman for Egypt’s Catholic Coptic Church, spoke to Vatican Radio about the reaction of Christians to the election. He said the situation in Egypt is “complicated.” Many Christians, he said, had voted for Morsi’s opponent, Ahmed Shafiq, who had promised a secular government. Father Greiche says Christians are concerned that Islamist groups will attempt to impose some form of sharia law. “All the Christians are afraid that they will apply the sharia… as they interpret it. So the Christians are not happy, they fell insecure.”

He says Christians hope that Morsi will fulfil the promises he made as a candidate. “We hope that, (Morsi) will bring the laws that the Christians want, like the building of the churches, or the laws for the Christian family, or not to have discrimination in the positions or in the government. These were promises, now we have to see if he will apply what he promised.” 

Father Greiche says it is important to pray for his country: “I hope you pray for us, you pray for Egypt. Because this phase is not ended by having a president . . . We want to have a constitution, we want that the law prevails, and that the law be applied to everybody, starting from the president to anybody.”

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