Cairo, Aug. 24 (ANI): While facing scattered criticism for their performance in power, President Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood from, which he hails have yet to face large-scale demonstrations, such as the one planned for 24 August.
For Mohammad Abu Hamed, a liberal former legislator, the Muslim Brotherhood is an illegal group that must be dissolved and Mohammad Mursi, a former Brotherhood official and now Egypt's president, has illegally retaken legislative powers from the army after sacking top generals earlier this month.
"The protests called for Friday aims at forcing the Brotherhood to readjust its status to be legal," Abu Hamed, a key mastermind of the mass demonstrations, the first since Mursi took office as Egypt's first elected civilian president in June, said.
"If these protests succeed, a six-member presidential council, headed by Mursi, will be created, along with a national salvation government," he added.
According to the Gulf News, Abu Hamed, a vociferous critic of Mursi and the Brotherhood, is confident that thousands of Egyptians will take to the streets on Friday.
"The opposition is able to mobilise many Egyptians for the protests, which will include a sit-in - to be staged outside the presidential palace," he added.
According to the report, organisers of the protests said that they will be mainly held outside the headquarters of the Brotherhood in the Cairo suburban area of Moqattam and the presidential palace in Heliopiolis, east of the Egyptian capital.
Supporters of the rally accuse the Brotherhood of having sought to tighten grip on power since an official ban of more than five decades was lifted on the influential group following the removal of former strongman Hosni Mubarak in a popular revolt last year, the report said.
Friday's protests whose supporters call a "revolution of wrath" have raised fears that they will turn violent in a country that has yet to rally from the street turmoil that has gripped it since the anti-Mubarak revolt, the report added..
"We have set up groups to protect the protesters in front of the presidential palace. Our demonstrations will be peaceful and we will not be dragged into violence even if we are attacked," Abu Hamed said.
However, the Brotherhood has announced a state of emergency to protect its offices and those of its Freedom and Justice Party.
Its Islamist allies have condemned the protests as serving the former regime, and vowed to help protect the Brotherhood offices, the report said. (ANI)
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