CAIRO (AP) - Egypt is bracing for more violence after the Muslim Brotherhood called for nationwide marches after Friday prayers and a "day of rage" to denounce this week's unprecedented bloodshed in the security forces' assault on the supporters of the country's ousted Islamist president that left more than 600 dead.
The government has authorized the use of deadly force against protesters targeting police and state institutions while the international community has urged both sides to show restraint and end the turmoil engulfing the nation.
At least 638 people were confirmed killed and nearly 4,000 wounded in Wednesday's violence, sparked when riot police backed by armored vehicles, snipers and bulldozers smashed the two sit-ins in Cairo where ousted President Mohammed Morsi's supporters had been camped out for six weeks to demand his reinstatement.
It was the deadliest day by far since the 2011 popular uprising that overthrew autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak and plunged the country into more than two years of instability.
*********************************** this may sound cynical and harsh, but this is the way things should be over there. when we [USA] get involved, we become the enemy and we unite all their factions. Obama has become this powerless farce in Egypt so now they get back to fighting and killing each other. if we aren't supporting the Egypt's military then we are blind to the underlying war going on.
democracy in the middle east muslim countries is just not attainable. whoever gets the reigns of power will use that power to dominate and persecute the others. duh!!! that's not the fertile ground for democracy.
"The Brotherhood has spent most of its 85 years as an outlawed group or enduring crackdowns by successive governments. The latest developments could prompt the authorities to once again declare it an illegal group and force it to go underground. "
[the last sentence of the article]
so enter naïve American leaders and Obama with his grandiose "muslim spring" idea that he begins to impose on the Middle East. Suddenly the brotherhood deserves a seat at the political table and should be a recognized political force in Egypt and across the middle east.
what happened? they did an ayatollah on their opponents. duh duh duh!!!!
1. The middle east doesn't have the western idea of separation of church and state. There is no such thing within Islamic societies. Its a foreign concept to them because Islam is far more political than it is a religion - although it does encompass both. Islam must rule the state or be in total disobedience to the Koran and Allah.
2. Therefore, with #1 above said, Democracy is no more tolerated in Islamic societies than separation of church and state is tolerated. Islam must be supreme, not the individual, and certainly not the idea that exists in the west of "we the people" type of governance. Another foreign concept to them. And one that does not mesh with Islamic rule.
This is why trying to turn these hellholes into freedom and democracy, etc. fails every time. It can't be done until you deal with the problem of Islam. And it is a problem.