Egypt

Tahrir updates: 28 secular parties and coalitions pulling out from square

19:00: Some secular groups and individuals return to Tahrir Square after most Islamist groups have left. Many denounce the fact that Islamists have hijacked the day. 

15:10: Twenty-eight secular parties and coalitions have decided to pull out from Tahrir Square in opposition to what they are calling the Islamists' hijacking of the protests with their own demands.

14:20: Protesters from the Salafi movement chant, "Obama, Obama, we are all Osama." They also chant, "Shut up, shut up, you seculars. Egypt will continue to be an Islamic state."

14:15: A group close to a small Salafi podium tries to chant, "We want to be a civil country," but is silenced by the surrounding mob. At the same time, a group of secular protesters inside the roundabout chants anti-military slogans.

The podium being managed by secular forces in front of the Mugamma tries to chant slogans about how civil the revolution has been.

14:00: Speakers at the Muslim Brotherhood podium, the largest in the square, call for the release of detainees and Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, who is currently serving a life sentence in an American prison on terrorism charges. They also reference "the uncontested Islamic identity of the Egyptian people, which is spelled out in Article 2 of the outgoing constitution."

13:30: In his sermon, Sheikh Mazhar Shaheen calls on Tahrir protesters to unite, and go with the will of the people.

"No one will impose anything on the Egyptian people," he says.

He criticizes foreign nations for intervening in domestic affairs and calls on Egyptians and their armed forces to protect the nation's sovereignty. While he criticizes the ruling military council for not giving a clear timeline for a transfer of power to a civilian government, he defends it for its showcase of strength and power.

13:20: Islamic preacher Yusuf al-Qaradawi calls on political movements and parties in Egypt to be united and stop accusing each other. Qaradawi also calls on people, in a speech he is delivering on behalf of Sheikh Essam Khalil, to hasten the process of achieving the revolution's demands based on a timeline.

He implores the young revolutionaries to preserve the civilized spirit of Tahrir Square and not to allow any party to abort the revolution.

12:00: All the entrances to the square are guarded by members of Salafi movement and the Muslim Brotherhood, who are wearing orange uniforms with Quranic verses written on them. Outside the square, ambulances are situated in three different locations.

A source at the the Ministry of Health tells Al-Masry Al-Youm that the ministry has taken unprecedented measures and placed all the nearby hospitals under alert. “This Friday is different, and clashes might erupt between the participants. Our duty is to be ready for everything. We've allocated eight stretchers ready to take any possible injuries from the square,” the source adds.

11:00: Islamic leader Safwat Hijazy addresses the audience from a podium run by a popular committee of the square. He asks protesters only to raise the Egyptian and Palestinian flags and chant: "We are all Egyptians," "The people and the army are one hand,” and "This is the will of Egyptians and this gathering is an expression of their unity. The demand of the people of Egypt is to refer to Sharia and the Quran."

10:30: Thousands of groups adhering to the Salafi movement arrive at Tahrir Square in buses from different governorates to take part in the protests. They chant, "We want it Islamic,” and "People want Sharia to be applied." 

10:00: Hundreds of thousands reach Tahrir Square before Friday prayers to take part in the "Friday of Popular Will.”

The call to gather in Tahrir followed Islamic groups' rejection to the proposed supra-constitutional principles by the ruling military council to regulate the way in which a constituent assembly elected by parliament would draft the constitution. Islamists who foresee a strong presence for themselves in parliament do not want such principles to intervene with how the constitution is drafted.

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