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Egypt's Islamists Settle In for a Long Fight

(Foreign Policy) Evan Hill - Supporters of overthrown President Mohamed Morsi have settled in for a long fight. By the tens of thousands, if not more, they packed the square and streets around Cairo's Rabaa al-Adaweya Mosque on Tuesday night and vowed not to leave until Morsi is reinstated. The Rabaa al-Adaweya sit-in has waxed and waned since it began more than a week ago, but on Tuesday the demonstration grew huge and festive, taking on the atmosphere of an Islamist Tahrir Square. A swarm of vendors sold Egyptian flags, religious trinkets, black banners bearing the Islamic testament of faith, and a seemingly endless number of Morsi posters. A crowd surrounded a group of men who danced in a circle, singing "Egypt is Islamic." Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the man who had been elevated by Morsi shortly after he took office - and helped orchestrate the popular coup that ended his presidency - is now seen as the enemy, a traitor. Outside the sit-in, many citizens, political elites, and privately owned media have already begun to move on. They're characterizing Morsi's supporters as "extremists." The two worldviews seem cleanly separated, the lack of overlap a dismal sign for reconciliation, even as the military-backed interim government begins to lay a roadmap for elections which it says the Brotherhood can join.
2013-07-10 00:00:00
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