CAIRO: Chanting, celebrations and anti-military junta slogans were on tap on Sunday evening and into Monday in Egypt's Tahrir Square, as thousands converged in a show of solidarity with newly elected Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsy. The newly-elected president is hopeful of uniting a country split down the middle, with fears over an Islamic group's rule of Egypt waning deeply. Christians in the country, which predominantly voted for Morsi's opponent, former Hosni Mubarak Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, are worried that the Muslim Brotherhood will attempt to push them aside in favor of conservative policies. But Morsi, on Sunday night, attempted to alleviate those fears. “Today I am the president of all Egyptians, inside the country and abroad, men and women, women and Copts," he said, attempting to allay the Christian community's fears of a Brotherhood president. Back in Tahrir, celebrations continued well into the night, with fireworks being heard streets away as Egyptians danced, sang and cheered for their new leader. But there was also a sense of determination throughout the masses. They understood the past 10 days' political turmoil. The military, they argued, is attempting a “coup” over the country in an effort to kill the revolution. With no parliament, the military taking complete legislative control over the country and now overseeing the writing of a new constitution, the Morsi victory brought out a myriad number of activists to the square. One of those who had battled the top powers was Gamal al-Shazly, an accountant who was injured on January 26, 2011, he said Egypt was saved by Morsi's win. “The country could have gone into civil war and the military would have taken over and turned us into Algeria in the 1990s," he told Bikyamasr.com. Shazly who co-founded an accounting firm in Cairo, said he and his partners at work were taking shifts to come to Tahrir and demonstrate. “We stopped working and came out here every day the past 16 months," continued Shazly, voted for Morsi in the first round and made sure his family supported him in the second round. “I wrote my will before coming to Tahrir today, if Shafiq would have won, I would have stayed here and if necessary, gladly presented my life for Egypt," he added. “Now we are hoping for complete powers to the president." a young man celebrating with friends in Mohamed Mahmoud street, where many battles with the army and police force took place," he said. “Today is not a win for political Islam, its a win for democracy." added Shazly. Agreeing with Shazly was Ahmed Habashi, the head of the April 6th's coordination committee in downtown Cairo told Bikyamasr.com, “we are here because the Brotherhood is part of the revolution and it is continuing. “We would never support the person who was in charge during the Camel Battle," alluding to Shafiq's involvement in the massacre that took the lives of at least 26 people on February 2, 2011 during the 18 days that ousted his regime and that of now jailed dictator Hosni Mubarak. Morsi, a humble leader who told the nation he was their “servant,” could be the new leader of a revolution that has desperately needed a figurehead to keep the idea of change that began in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2011 moving forward. On June 24, 2012, Egypt finally has a new president. The revolution continues and it will be battled to the end.
