CAIRO: In a display of frustration at the ascension to the presidency of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian activists are to hold a “No to the Brotherhood” demonstration in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday. They hope to galvanize activists who want to pressure the Brotherhood and who have become disillusioned by the political process in the country. Many Egyptian activists have publicly shown their disapproval of President Morsi and their fear for the future of Egypt. The protest is being planned by the Coptic youth group Maspero Youth Union and a number of organizations and activists loyal to the military, which officially handed over power to President Morsi on June 30 after swearing in the new president. Coptic Christians largely voted against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood during last month's presidential run-off, citing fears that the Islamic group would curtail their freedom and crackdown on the minority religious community in Egypt, which makes up some 10 percent of Egypt's 90 million population. The groups taking part in Friday's protest reportedly are asking for Mursi to step down, according to reports by Al-Arabiya TV. It comes a week after Morsi himself went to the iconic square a day before his swearing in as the country's first democratically elected leader. He swore a symbolic oath to the country, in an effort to bring about greater unity in Egypt and pressure the military to hand over power. “There is no power above people power," Mursi said as the hundreds of thousands who had gathered cheered for their new leader. He also paid tribute to “the square of the revolution, the square of freedom," addressing “the free world, Arabs, Muslims … the people of Egypt, brothers and sisters … Muslims of Egypt, Christians of Egypt."
