It's not about Morsi or the Brotherhood; it's about Shari'a, chanted crowds at a conference of Islamist Parties in Minya on Wednesday. The Coalition of Islamist Parties in Minya held a popular conference titled "The Revolutionary Egypt: an Islamic Vision" on the city's Nile corniche. The coalition included Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya, the Building and Development Party, Al-Raya Party, Al-Wasat Party, as well the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya member and founder of the Tagarod campaign Assem Abdel Maged said that he would not allow "the foolish" to bring down President Mohamed Morsi, as the president represents the Islamist project. "We will sacrifice everything to defend [the Islamist project's] legitimacy," said Secretary of Al-Raya Party in Minya Mohamed Shaker, adding that enemies of Islam were trying to make it appear that those defending Islamist ideals were merely defending Morsi. Speakers at the conference included Kamal Al-Helaly, secretary of Building and Development Party in Minya, Mostafa Al-Khedry, secretary of Al-Wasat Party in Minya, and Diaa Al-Moghazy, secretary of the FJP. Abdel Maged called for Islamist supporters to participate in 30 June protests at the presidential palace to respond to the planned opposition protests against President Morsi. Morsi met with Minister of Defence Mohamed Al-Sisi, Minister of Interior Mohamed Ibrahim and Head of General Intelligence Agency Mohamed Raafat Shehata on Wednesday to discuss the security situation. A statement released by the presidency on the meeting underlined its view on the upcoming protests: "[President Morsi] stressed the importance of [both] dealing in a civil way with citizens who express their opinion peacefully, and responding to any violations of law or threats to state institutions."
