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Pro- and anti-Brotherhood protesters gather in Tahrir Square Tahrir Square witnesses both pro- and anti-Brotherhood protests, calls for President Morsi to focus on the country's poor
The day in Tahrir Square began with strong criticism of Mohamed Abu-Hamed and Tawfiq Okasha, who had called for anti-Muslim Brotherhood protests, by SheikhMazhar Shahin,the pro-revolution Imamof Omar Makram Mosque. He made particular criticism of Okasha's support for Israel. After Friday prayers, a few dozen protesters began chanting in support of President Mohamed Morsi and against remnants of the old regime. Mohamed, a 30-year-old shop owner, said he'd come to show his support for the president even though he was not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. "No Islamist group called for today's protest and I want to say to Mohamed Morsi that we are standing with you until the last drop of our blood," he said. During the protest a number of minor scuffles broke out between pro- and anti-Brotherhood protesters. The latter found themselves in the minority but insisted it was the right of every person to express their views in the square. At one point, a man wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with anti-Brotherhood slogans entered the square with his wife and young children. He insisted he did not support Abu-Hamed but that he had a right to express his views. However, he soon moved away from the square to the nearby Mohamed Mahmoud Street. Fatahia AbdelHamid, a working class mother of three in her fifties, said she had come to call on President Morsi to help the poor. “I chose Hamdeen Sabbahi in the first round of the elections and I voted for Morsi against Shafiq in the runoff because Shafiq is against the revolution. However, I came today because I want Morsi to look after the poor," she said. “Insteadof honouring Field MarshalTantawi,he should look after thepoor, improve education, and free those who were arrested during the Abbasiya and Mohamed Mahmoud clashes," Fatahia added. The day was generally peaceful but there was some stone-throwing between pro- and anti-Brotherhood protesters on Talaat Harb Street, near Tahrir Square, with anti-Brotherhood supporters eventually being driven out of the area. There were no reported injuries, according to ambulance paramedics at the scene. Street vendors were out in force, selling juice and food to protesters. And it was noticeable that flag vendors were selling Muslim Brotherhood flags alongside those emblazoned with President Morsi's face and the national flag. There was a noticeable absence of police officers in the square. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/51202.aspx
