Egyptian clerics warn of civil war

Mass protests are aimed at making Mursi quit as president

CAIRO: Egypt’s leading religious authority warned of “civil war” yesterday and called for calm after a member of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was killed ahead of mass rallies aimed at forcing the president to quit.

“Vigilance is required to ensure we do not slide into civil war,” the Al-Azhar institute said. In a statement broadly supportive of Islamist head of state Mohamed Mursi, it blamed “criminal gangs” who besieged mosques for street violence which the Brotherhood said had killed five supporters in a week.

There was no immediate sign of trouble as Islamists gathered round a Cairo mosque after weekly prayers to show support for Mursi. His opponents hope millions will turn out tomorrow to demand new elections, a year since he was sworn in as Egypt’s first freely elected leader.

“I came to support the legitimate order,” said Ahmed alMaghrabi, 37, a shopkeeper from the Nile Delta city of Mansoura. “I am with the elected president. He needs to see out his term.”

There was a mostly festive atmosphere, with vendors selling mango and cakes and ban- ners flying. Some opposition gatherings were also under way. A handful of protesters watched security men ringing the presidential palace, the focus for tomorrow’s Cairo rally. Mursi has moved elsewhere.

The army has warned it will intervene again if there is violence and to defend the “will of the people”. Both sides believe that means the military may support their positions.

The US, which

funds Egypt’s army, has urged compromise and respect for election results. Egypt’s 84 million people, control of the Suez Canal and a treaty with Israel all contribute to its global strategic importance.

In Alexandria several thousand protesters marched. Some fear the Brotherhood is intent on usurping the revolution to entrench its power and Islamic law. Others were complaining mainly about economic stagna- tion. “I’ve nothing to do with politics, but with the state we’re in now, even a stone would cry out,” said accountant Mohamed Abdel Latif. “There are no services, we can’t find diesel or gasoline. We elected Mursi, but this is enough.

“Let him make way for someone else who can fix it.”

Al-Azhar urged the opposition to accept Mursi’s offer of dialogue and abandon demonstrations.

Senior Al- Azhar scholar Hassan El- Shafei said they should accept it “for the national good, instead of the insistence on confrontation”.

Opposition leaders dismissed Mursi’s proposal on Wednesday to include the fragmented opposition in panels to review the constitution and promote reconciliation, saying such offers led nowhere because the Brotherhood refuses to dilute its power.

A liberal activist on the march in Alexandria, Abdelrahman Abdel Wadoud, 27, said: “We are telling Mursi ‘your last speech confirms your failure’… And on June 30 we will go out and will not leave until Mursi leaves.”

The Brotherhood said a member was shot dead and four wounded at a rally. – Reuters

PICTURE: AP MURSI PROTEST: Egyptian women chant slogans against President Mohamed Mursi during a demonstration in Tahrir Square in Cairo. The city is bracing for mass protests against the government.