DOWNTOWN Cairo came to a standstill yesterday when tens of Muslim Brotherhood supporters gathered inside Al-Fattah mosque in Ramses Square, carrying anti-Mubarak banners. The rally which lasted for nearly an hour at noon time was heavily surrounded by hundreds of security forces who brought one of Cairo's busiest streets into a complete standstill. Protesters standing inside the mosque chanted anti- Mubarak slogans such as "No to dictatorship", "No to cosmetic reform, yes to real reform". They also carried the all too common banner of the Muslim Brotherhood "Islam is the solution". The Cairo rally was one of several rallies which took place at the same time in at least ten governorates. This is the second time within a month that the outlawed group decided to take to the street in a bid to push for its demands for political reform. According to Abdel-Moneim Abul-Futuh, a senior member of the Brotherhood, this is part of the effort to push for a real political reform in the country. Abul-Futuh was harshly critical of the security forces, which fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators. "We want to be part of the campaign for peaceful change in the country but the practices of the security forces are radicalising the moderates amongst us. They want to turn every one into a terrorist," Abul-Futuh told the Weekly soon after the rally ended. He said that at least three hundred Brotherhood supporters were arrested in Al-Sharqqyia governorate, a hundred in Fayyoum and that there were many injuries due to the use of tear gas against the protesters.
