Two Egyptian boys walk past a burnt police vehicle during
clashes with riot police, unseen, near the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt,
Friday, Sept. 14, 2012(Photo: AP)
Ahram Online provides wrap-up of day's events, including
ongoing protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square; on-again, off-again
fighting near US embassy;
and host of smaller demonstrations in Egypt's provinces
Nada El-Kouny, Friday 14 Sep 2012
Hundreds of Egyptian demonstrators protested in Tahrir Square
following midday prayers on Friday to register their anger over a short film
produced in the US
that mocks Islam and the Prophet Mohamed. Despite calls to maintain the rally's
peaceful nature, limited clashes have continued to erupt near the US embassy in Cairo's Garden City district.
Following Friday midday prayers, Mazhar Shaheen, known as the "Tahrir
Preacher," called on demonstrators to maintain the protests' peaceful
nature and steer clear of the nearby US embassy. He also urged
protesters to stage a sit-in in the flashpoint square in the event they had any
outstanding demands, including an official apology from Washington.
Shaheen went on to warn that the offensive film served to promote sectarian
tension between Egypt's
Muslim and Christian communities. "If you love the Prophet, stay
peaceful," Shaheen told the crowd.
"We don't want any more bloodshed; we've lost enough martyrs in recent
months," the preacher said.
Following midday prayers, Shaheen called on protesters arrayed in the square
to move to the nearby embassy and form human chains with the aim of protecting
the embassy from rock-throwing protesters.
Some demonstrators waved black flags bearing the Islamic statement of faith,
"There is no God but Allah." Many of the protesters, who appeared to
belong to Salafist groups, demanded a robust reaction to the film.
"There must be a real boycott of America
on all levels, economic and cultural," Sheikh Gamal Saber, who had
campaigned for Salafist candidate Hazem Abu-Ismail in Egypt's recent
presidential elections, told Ahram Online.
The Muslim Brotherhood, along with various Salafists groups, had called for
peaceful mass protests on Friday outside mosques across Egypt to
protest the offensive film.
"The people say the prophet is a red line," was one of the many
chants heard at the scene, as scores – mostly members of Egypt's
Salafist Nour Party – continued to arrive in Tahrir Square.
Tahrir protests
"I'm here to protest and tell the world that you can't tread on our
dignity," said 38-year-old protester Ismail Mohamed. "We're allowed
to be angry, but we must also exercise respect and show restraint."
Mohamed's sentiments reflected the general mood across the square, with
several protesters stressing the right to peaceful protest while rejecting
attempts to storm the US
embassy.
Protester Mohamed Mizar, 39, called for steps to be taken to calm the
situation. Mizar, who wore a "I love my Prophet" headband, said that Egypt's Al-Azhar University
should train its alumni to visit the west and portray Islam in a positive
light.
Secondly, he said that Christians and Muslims in Egypt should have real channels of
communication, through which they might work out their differences. He also
believes that Egyptians must work towards building a strong nation, "so
that we can be strong enough to regain our dignity."
One passerby in the square, who preferred anonymity, criticised the
situation, asserting that the protests were being instigated by Salafist groups
with the aim of embarrassing the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed
Morsi.
Wahib Hanna, a 60-year old Coptic man who shared this view, said: "Any
offense to the Prophet is an offense to all of Egypt's Coptic-Christians."
Meanwhile, for the fourth day running, anti-film demonstrators also
continued to protest outside the nearby US embassy, which has remained the
scene of on-again, off-again clashes.
Embassy skirmishes
Early Friday afternoon, limited clashes re-ignited outside the embassy
grounds between police and hundreds of protesters. Both sides pelted each other
with stones while police forces lobbed teargas canisters into the crowd.
By midday, however, clashes seemed to have subsided by the embassy, where a
few dozen young protesters could be seen standing – amid rubble and shattered
glass – in front of a wall erected earlier in the day.
Egyptian army building a new concrete wall at Midan Simon Bolivar
to block protesters from US embassy Cairo.
(Photo: Ghazala Irshad)
to block protesters from US embassy Cairo.
(Photo: Ghazala Irshad)
At the back of the nearby Omar Makram Mosque, on a side street leading to
the US
embassy, ambulances tended to those injured in the embassy clashes. Most
injuries were the result of smoke inhalation and rock throwing.
At one point, an American journalist was seen being threatened by a masked
protester. This came following earlier reports of hostilities against foreign
journalists in the square.
One bystander who witnessed the incident, a student from Upper
Egypt, stated: "I don't agree with what the protesters are
doing; I bet none of them have actually seen the offensive film."
He added that many protesters, mostly young men, simply wanted to fight with
police.
Within the last 48 hours, more than 220 protesters have been reported
injured in limited clashes with security forces. On Friday alone, at least 12
were reported injured.
Another passerby, riding a red motorcycle, shouted: "This isn't our
religion. We don't call for violence. Neither our religion nor our prophet
would approve of this. I want the violence to stop."
Ahmed Seif, a 26-year-old television producer and member of the Salafist
Calling, said he completely rejected the violent turn of events.
Still struggling with teargas inhalation, he stated: "I want everyone
protesting at the embassy to leave the premises; if we have demands, let's
stage a sit-in in the square."
Clashes also broke out in front of the nearby Semiramis InterContinental
Hotel, where police vans deployed in an effort to force protesters back towards
Tahrir.
In the provinces
In Egypt's coastal city
of Alexandria,
dozens of protesters – mostly sporting beards – gathered outside the American
consulate, where they set fire to US and Israeli flags to protest the
anti-Islam film.
While protesters called for "vengeance," they also stressed that
they were not associated with any formal Islamist movements.
Meanwhile, in the Nile Delta governorate of Damanhour, thousands of
protesters took to the streets to call for the punishment of the film's
producer.
In Kafr El-Sheikh, in the north-western delta, a joint protest held by the
Muslim Brotherhood, the liberal Free Egyptians party and the Salafist Nour
Party kicked off following Friday prayers.
"Barbarian America,
this is wickedness not freedom," protesters chanted as they marched in the
northern city of Gharbiya.
Similar protests were also staged in Mahalla Al-Kubra, Mansoura, South
Sinai, Port Said, Suez, Qena, Sohag, Assiut and Hurghada.
The Muslim Brotherhood, for its part, has organised protests all over the
country, including demonstrations in Beheira, Damietta,
Luxor, and
other governorates.
In the eastern delta, Farid Ismail, a member of Egypt's
Constituent Assembly (tasked with drafting a new constitution) and secretary of
the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party in Sharqiya, said that the
anti-Islam film had opened the US
up to charges of protecting "terrorism and contempt for Islam."
"This assault on Islam has been condemned by all the nations of the
world, including the American people, as was conveyed to me by [US President
Barack] Obama during our phone conversation," Morsi stated.
The Egyptian president went on to stress his rejection of any attempt to promote strife between nations, warning that such "childish" actions "only serve to distract us from real problems, such as ongoing events in Syria."
In Cairo's Tahrir Square, meanwhile, scores gathered to protest the offensive film. Demonstrations, which have been ongoing since Tuesday, have led to limited clashes that have left over two hundred injured until now.
Other countries in the region have seen similar angry protests in the wake of the controversial film, including Iraq, Palestine, Morocco and Lebanon. In Tripoli, Lebanon, protesters on Friday torched two American fast-food restaurants.
Speaking in Italy, Morsi declared that recent attempts to promote sectarian strife "will not deter us from our main mission of safeguarding regional peace and stability," going on to stress that Islam was "a religion that respects the beliefs of others and advocates freedom of belief."
The president again offered his condolences to the American people for the killing of four US diplomats – including the US ambassador to Libya – who died following a Tuesday rocket attack in Benghazi.
Morsi had earlier expressed his sorrow for the attack at a Thursday press conference in Brussels.
The Egyptian president departed Egypt on Wednesday to take part in his first European tour, which includes Belgium and Italy, with the aim of bolstering Egypt-EU relations.
Morsi slams anti-Islam film in Rome, rejects 'strife between nations'
Speaking from Italian capital, Egypt's
President Morsi reiterates condemnation of anti-Islam film, offers condolences
to American people for diplomats killed in Benghazi
MENA, Friday 14 Sep 2012
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Friday reiterated his
condemnation of a controversial short film that denigrates Islam and the
Prophet Mohamed. The president was speaking at a joint press conference in Rome with his Italian
counterpart.
The Egyptian president went on to stress his rejection of any attempt to promote strife between nations, warning that such "childish" actions "only serve to distract us from real problems, such as ongoing events in Syria."
In Cairo's Tahrir Square, meanwhile, scores gathered to protest the offensive film. Demonstrations, which have been ongoing since Tuesday, have led to limited clashes that have left over two hundred injured until now.
Other countries in the region have seen similar angry protests in the wake of the controversial film, including Iraq, Palestine, Morocco and Lebanon. In Tripoli, Lebanon, protesters on Friday torched two American fast-food restaurants.
Speaking in Italy, Morsi declared that recent attempts to promote sectarian strife "will not deter us from our main mission of safeguarding regional peace and stability," going on to stress that Islam was "a religion that respects the beliefs of others and advocates freedom of belief."
The president again offered his condolences to the American people for the killing of four US diplomats – including the US ambassador to Libya – who died following a Tuesday rocket attack in Benghazi.
Morsi had earlier expressed his sorrow for the attack at a Thursday press conference in Brussels.
The Egyptian president departed Egypt on Wednesday to take part in his first European tour, which includes Belgium and Italy, with the aim of bolstering Egypt-EU relations.
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