Morsy angers worshippers in mosque

Magdy Samaan
Egypt Independent

Worshippers at Hassan al-Sharbatly Mosque in New Cairo protested against President Mohamed Morsy while he was attending prayers there Friday, when the imam of the mosque tried to justify the president’s recent decisions.

“Prophet Mohamed and the Caliphs used to dismiss and appoint judges, and there is no problem with Morsy doing that,” the imam said, according to an eyewitness. The imam was referring to Morsy’s dismissal of the prosecutor general, which was deemed a staggering interference of the president in judicial matters.  

But worshippers stopped the imam and protested his likening Morsy to the Prophet.

The atmosphere was charged following the prayers, with some worshippers chanting, “Down with the rule of the supreme guide,” referring to the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Morsy hails.

Meanwhile, Morsy supporters in the crowd chanted the president’s name.

“The imam made a mistake and the president is to be blamed,” retired professor Hassan Abdel Kader, who was praying close to the president, told Egypt Independent.

“What the imam said angered the people and created a hubbub,” he added. “His sermon was immediately interrupted by angry worshippers.”

The ensuing chaos remained for a few minutes following the prayer. The imam asked people to calm down, saying, “No voice should be louder than the chant of ‘There is no God but Allah.’”

To end the chaos, some people called for prayer. As soon as the prayer ended, “the hubbub returned again, even more strongly,” said Hassan Awad, a retired army general, who attended the prayer.

After the end of the prayer, Morsy took the microphone and talked to the worshippers, assuring them of the independence of the judiciary.

“Morsy contained the protesters smartly, and acknowledged the judges’ rights, but at the same time his decisions are not in line with what he said in the mosque,” said Awad.

Abdel Kader said Morsy asked to talk with some of the protesters, and four young men went to talk with him for about 15 minutes.

“The protesters were more than the supporters," Abdel Kader said.

Adel Ibrahim, a journalist at Al-Ahram state daily, who attended the prayer, said four buses carrying pro-Morsy people came to attend the prayer. A security guard confirmed that. Ibrahim added that worshippers were annoyed before the start of the prayer because of the tight security measures.