JOIN USEgypt protesters land in palace
Egypt’s political crisis spiraled deeper into bitterness and recrimination Friday as thousands of Islamist backers of the president vowed vengeance at a funeral for men killed in bloody clashes earlier this week and large crowds of the president’s opponents marched on his palace to increase pressure after he rejected their demands.
The two camps in the country’s divide appeared at a deadlock, after President Mohammed Morsi gave a fiery televised speech on Thursday night denouncing his opponents and refusing to call off a referendum on a draft constitution promulgated by his allies, even as he appealed for dialogue. The opposition rejected talks, saying he must first cancel the referendum and meet other demands.
With Egypt’s crisis now in its third week, anger was mounting in the streets, after the two camps clashed Wednesday in heavy battles outside the presidential palace that left at least
six dead and more than 700 injured.
Each side is depicting the conflict as an all-out fight for Egypt's future and identity. The opposition accuses Morsi and his Islamist allies of turning increasingly dictatorial to force their agenda on the country, monopolize power and turn Egypt to a religious state. The Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsi hails, and other Islamists say the opposition is trying to use the streets to overturn their victories in elections over the past year and stifle popular demands to implement Islamic Shariah law.
The tone was one of a battle cry as thousands of Islamists held funeral prayers Friday at Al-Azhar Mosque — the country’s premier Islamic institution — for Morsi supporters killed in Wednesday’s clashes. Seeking to rally their side, speakers to the crowd portrayed the opposition as tools of the ousted leader Hosni Mubarak regimeand vowed to defend a constitution they say brings Islamic law to Egypt.