Sufi leaders along with ten political parties as well as Coptic, liberal and secular groups are planning to stage a million-man protest in Tahrir square on Friday, 12 August The leaders of eight Sufi sects have formed an organisational committee to prepare for the protest, which will be held under the theme “In the love of Egypt”. The purpose of the protest is to reinforce national unity between Muslims and Copts, challenge Salafist and Wahhabi thought, and promote the civil state, according to Alaa Aboul Azayem, founder of the Al-Tahrir political party and leader of Azmiya Sufi sect. Abdel Galil Mostafa, another member of the committee, said that one goal of the demonstration is to form political blocks to prepare for the upcoming elections. Aboul Azayem was quoted by several publications critiquing Salafists who staged a massive protest last Friday, describing their school of thought as alien to Egyptian culture. He also criticised raising the Saudi flag during their protest in Tahrir as unpatriotic. The Sufi protest is scheduled to commence after the Friday prayers and extend through the early hours of Saturday as protesters plan to have Suhour in the square. Sheikh Yassin El-Tohamy, an acclaimed Sufi chanter, will give a performance until the dawn prayers.
