Egypt's bruised Brotherhood seeks to show street power

[dipsydoodle]

Last edited Fri Aug 23, 2013, 09:09 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Egyptian troops and police stood ready in Cairo to foil Muslim Brotherhood plans for "Friday of Martyrs" protests against the army's bloody crackdown on followers of ousted President Mohamed Mursi.

The Brotherhood, hounded by Egypt's new army-backed rulers, has called for marches from 28 mosques after midday prayers in Cairo, testing the resilience of its battered support base.

Security precautions appeared relatively low-key, even near the Fateh mosque in the heart of the capital where gun battles raged last Friday and Saturday, killing scores of people.

The mosque's metal gates and big front door were locked and chained. A doorman said prayers had been cancelled. Two armoured personnel carriers were parked down the street, where people shopped at a bustling market.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/uk-egypt-protests-idUKBRE97514U20130823

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Egypt security deploys as Morsi supporters rally.

CAIRO (AP) -- Hundreds of supporters of Mohammed Morsi took to the streets Friday, holding scattered rallies across the city in a test of whether the ousted Egyptian president's allies can keep up the pressure on the government despite the arrest of much of their senior leadership.

Protesters chanted against the military and held up posters of the president on smaller streets and outside neighborhood mosques, dodging major thoroughfares and squares where military and security forces deployed in strength ahead of the rallies, sometimes behind barbed wire barricades.

The demonstrations come a day after deposed autocrat Hosni Mubarak was released from prison and placed under house arrest in a military hospital in southern Cairo, adding to tensions.

Morsi's allies sent live-feed video to reporters from the different rally sites, a move designed to make up for the shutting down of a number of Islamist TV stations following his ouster. State and private media covered some of the pro-Morsi protests.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_EGYPT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-23-08-59-34

[David__77]

1. I think that MB has suffered a definitive political defeat.

Even the pro-MB press has noted the strong upsurge in patriotic, anti-MB, pro-armed forces sentiment in the country. They can choose to resort to more terrorism or to fade as a political force with increasingly smaller street actions; either way is a relegation to the side.

[dipsydoodle]

2. I think you might find

that's mainly in Cairo and Alexandria - not necessarily in areas more remote from the protests.

[David__77]

3. You're right.

But I'm not sure that the backwaters will matter, in the absence of an insurgency. If it goes that route, then Algeria is probably more of a template than Syria.