CAIRO: The deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Essam al-Erian on Friday said that the draft constitution was a symbol of post-revolution Egypt and “fulfills” the hopes of those killed and injured in the country's January 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak. It comes as Egypt is facing its worst political crisis since that uprising after President Mohamed Morsi, who came out of the Brotherhood, issued a presidential decree that gives him near absolute power above judicial review. The “lies” promoted against the assembly “will collapse” after the constitution is read, al-Erian added. Egypt's constituent assembly finalized on Friday morning the draft constitution by consensus. The draft will be presented to President Morsi on Saturday in preparation for putting it to a popular referendum. “Everyone will see when they read the constitution that it is every Egyptian's pride … We drafted a constitution fit for post-revolution Egypt,” al-Erian wrote on his Facebook page. Egypt opposition to Morsi's decree and anger over the new constitution has grown exponentially over the past 8 days, with protesters taking to the streets in an effort to put pressure on the president to withdraw the decree and listen to the people. Protesters on Friday chanted anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans including “Down with the rule of the General Guide" in reference to the brotherhood's guide and “Freedom ... Freedom." It is all part of continued to pressure by activists against President Mohamed Morsi's recent power grab. The iconic square, the heart of the January 2011 uprising, has been in full swing for the past week, with protesters building up a strong showing daily and a makeshift tent city having been erected demanding that Morsi withdraw what has been described by activists and opposition political leaders as a power grab to rival the Mubarak era. Activists have continued to block of Tahrir Square, a new wall was added to downtown Cairo on Qasr el-Aini street near the square and protesters attempt to clean garbage that has been strewn across the center of the capital. More and more groups have joined the opposition sit-ins, including the judiciary, which is threatening to push Egypt into a massive shutdown of the country. Making matters worse, on Thursday, Morsi and his fellow conservatives began pushing through a constitution that has most liberals and secular activists angry that during this crisis the government would attempt to pass a document seen as divisive and limiting on freedoms. Activists and political opposition want the president to dissolve the Constituent Assembly, initiate a national dialogue to come up with standards agreed upon by all political currents, in addition to other demands, including the purging of the interior ministry. Over 1,000 Egyptians have been wounded in the ongoing violence that hit its peak on Friday, November 23, and has been nearly constant with police attacking protesters in and around the square with barrages of tear gas and birdshot. At least four people have been killed across the country in the violence. The constituent assembly, despite seeing the withdrawal of all women and many other members in protest over the Salafists – Islamic puritans – went forward with ensuring Islamic statutes and Islamic law, or Sharia, would remain a focal point of the document. It means that Islamic law will continue to be the main source of legislation, unchanged from the previous constitution under deposed President Hosni Mubarak. The role of Islam has been long disputed and has frustrated many Egyptians who had hoped that civil law would supercede any religious tendencies. After that, Morsi must put it to a popular referendum. But even that has been hit with controversy after judges in the country, who are already on strike and have called for the presidential decree that grants Morsi power above the rule of law, announced they would not oversee any referendum on the constitution. This threatens the entire process and leaves many questions on the ground as an end to the political impasse in Egypt seems unlikely to end in the future. “We don't want an end to democracy and we want freedom from dictatorship in Egypt," 27-year-old unemployed Mohamed Said told Bikyamasr.com in the main square on Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of Egyptian gathered in a show of force against President Morsi's actions. “We were here and risked out lives in the [January] uprising against Mubarak, not the Brotherhood, so this is our revolution and we will make sure it continues," said Hossam el-Arabi, a 39-year-old carpenter from 6th of October. Tuesday was the largest protests against Morsi since last Friday, when tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets. Egypt is facing a political impasse many say is similar to early days of the January 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak.
