CAIRO: Egypt's Islamic powers have not yet decided whether they will participate in mass demonstrations scheduled for this Friday September 30. The demonstration, dubbed “The Friday for Reclaiming the Revolution,” has been organized by various revolutionary youth coalitions. They are set to protest Egypt's newly declared election procedures and the emergency law, among other political demands. They are also rallying to demand disclosure of Field Marshal Hussein Tantwi's recent testimony in the trial of former President Hosni Mubarak. The testimony was given in a closed session of the trial. The Director General of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood (MB), Mahmoud Hussein, announced that the group has not yet decided whether it will participate in the demonstrations. He said that the MB would not participate in demonstrations if national groups do not reach a consensus for a unified agenda. Nageh Ibrahim of the Islamic Group announced that the group has also not yet decided whether it will participate in the demonstrations set for this Friday. He stated that increased demonstrations have lost saliency, insisting that Egypt's various political powers need to coordinate an agenda before taking to the square. Ibrahim also asserted that issues like election procedures are only the concern of the political elite, and that the demands of the protest do not reflect the concerns of the Egyptian street. He called upon Egypt's leading political powers to remain in touch with more popular issues such as the current economic crisis and dwindling tourism revenues. Organizers of the protest have called for a million people to join those in the square this Friday, however protest turnout has dwindled in recent weeks. If the country's Islamic groups do not participate, the protest may not reach the capacity organizers hope to achieve. BM
