Online calls for anti-government protests failed to attract people to the streets on Friday 11 November. The calls ignited debates among social network users despite most political parties and activist movements, excepting the Muslim Brotherhood, announcing that they would not take part in the demonstrations. Security forces were deployed in large numbers in cities across Egypt. Though big protests failed to materialize, several small gatherings were dispersed and some minor clashes took place. The Ministry of Health reported no injuries on the day. It remains unclear who was behind the online calls for what had been termed “the revolution of the poor.” Anonymous online pages proliferated in support of demonstrations against the government's economic policies and rocketing inflation and those behind them probably hoped – mistakenly, it turned out – that the floatation of the pound and the rise in subsidised fuel prices announced on 10 November would further encourage people to take to the streets. The anonymous calls for Friday protests were supported by the banned Muslim Brotherhood. On 8 November the group's spokesperson, Talaat Fahmi, issued a statement saying, “if Egyptians go to the streets against the government the Muslim Brotherhood members will be with them.” A day before the protests Interior Ministry officials said police had “uncovered a stash of weapons that supporters of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood were plotting to use ahead of 11 November protests”. A statement issued by the minstry said a cache of arms and ammunition hidden in a graveyard and house in Fayoum, southwest of Cairo, had been discovered, five bomb factories around the country were raided. “The armed wing of the Muslim Brotherhood intended to use the weapons in terrorist attacks as they seek to take advantage of economic conditions to incite protests,” claimed the statement. The protests were far smaller than anticipated, at least 66 people were arrested by security forces for violating the Protest Law. They have all been referred to the Giza prosecution. Talbiya, Omraniya and Kerdassa, three districts that have long been known supporting the Brotherhood, all witnessed demonstrations. “Many of the protesters arrested were carrying knives,” said the office of the Giza prosecutor. “We are still waiting for National Security investigation reports for other details.” The Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement on Saturday thanking “thousands of Egyptians for participating in the protests”. Even anti-government activists treated the statement as a joke on Facebook and Twitter. “It seems that the Muslim Brotherhood are either talking about anti-Trump protests in the US or they are still watching Al-Jazeera,” posted Eid Mohamed on his Twitter account. Yasser Al-Omda, a fixture of pro-Brotherhood channels that broadcast from abroad, has claimed to be behind the Revolution of The Poor Facebook page. Al-Omda, who has lived in Turkey since 2014, identifies himself as “the revolution's poet” and released a handful of videos calling on people to protest against the government's austerity policies. Al-Omda's brother Mahmoud Abdel-Halim, interviewed on Dream TV, said his family considers Yasser a “traitor”. “We do not want to see him again. He betrayed our country. He is calling for the killing of Egyptian army soldiers.” Al-Omda's late father was an MP in the Mubarak-era People's Assembly, and his uncle was a member of the Shura Council. Social networks and TV shows were abuzz with speculation about who was really behind the calls to protest and what their demands are. “To ask whether the protest failed or succeeded is a redundant question. The fact is there were no protests. There was not even a discernable movement opposed to the government's policies,” says political researcher Sameh Rashed. “It is not clear who was behind the protests or why the calls were anonymous.” Rashed believes the lack of clearly articulated goals, combined with public antipathy to street politics, meant few were attracted to calls made by unknown groups. Sameh Eid, an expert in the Islamist movements, argued the Muslim Brotherhood's support of the demonstrations contributed to their failure. “Any protests supported or sponsored by the banned Muslim Brotherhood will alienate the public who long ago abandoned any trust in the group,” says Eid. The Muslim Brotherhood has lost the ability to mobilise even its own supporters as a result of divisioned among its leaders and the defection of many young members. “Young cadres find themselves facing the public and the government. Younger members of the group are no longer inclined to obey orders given by leaders living abroad with their families,” says Eid.
