CAIRO: Egypt's Salafist Front called on Islamic groups to go out and protest after the coming Friday prayer in objection to the Prime Minister's announcement of releasing the Constitutional Guiding Principles later this month. The front, a coalition of a number of youth Salafists and conservative Puritan groups, called the Guide “an attempt to manipulate the people's will for the benefit of the few.” Ali al-Selmi, the prime minister's deputy of political affairs, announced earlier this week that the document will be released on August 15. The front said they, and other Islamic groups, refused the idea of putting “above-constitutional” rules and warned of “mass anger” if the government pushes for its implementation. The Salafists say that the Egyptian people had their say when they went to voting booths in March and voted for the formation of the Parliament and choosing their president before the formation of the new Constitution. Assem Abdel Maged, a member of Gama'a Islamiya, the conservative Islamic Group, said that Selmi had surpassed his competence with the guiding principals as this is the role of the elected legislative parliament. “The executive powers should not be part of the political process,” Abdel Maged told local press on Wednesday. Experts say the Islamists, who mobilized people to vote for the election first, believe that their potential grip on power could slip if the Guiding Principals try to move the country in a secular direction. On July 29 many Salafists groups took to Cairo's Tahrir Square in a march that witnessed the participation of at least one million people, in an apparent exercise of power in the face of secular groups that were mostly camped in the square since July 8. The crowd chanted “Islamiya Islamiya” or “Islamic state” while many held the Qur'an shouting “this is our Constitution.” The groups that are calling for an other march on Friday had previously agreed on halting protests and sit-ins during the holy month of Ramadan and none of them expected the Supreme Council of Armed Forces using force the first day of the Islamic month of fasting to disperse protesters on August 1, arresting and holding them for days, and according to many activists testimonies, beat them. BM
