In addition to its successful mobilization of millions of Egyptians, the so-called Tamarod anti-government movement in Egypt has drawn attention for explicitly denouncing the role that the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is seeking to play in the country’s political life. On Monday Tamarod protesters threatened “complete civil disobedience” if the Muslim Brotherhood did not give up power:
Earlier, Tamarod issued a statement saying the protesters would give Mr Morsi until 17:00 (15:00 GMT) on Tuesday to leave power and allow state institutions to prepare for early presidential elections. Otherwise, people would begin a campaign of “complete civil disobedience”, the group warned. It urged “state institutions including the army, the police and the judiciary, to clearly side with the popular will as represented by the crowds”.
The group also rejected offers of dialogue from the president. “There is no way to accept any half measures,” it said. “There is no alternative other than the peaceful end of power of the Muslim Brotherhood and its representative, Mohammed Morsi.”
Multiple regional headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party were stormed and looted over the weekend. In the northern city of El Sharkeya, activists who stormed the local Muslim Brotherhood headquarters destroyed official documents.
In Cairo, the Brotherhood’s national headquarters was ransacked. The event was captured on social media on YouTube (embedded below) and Twitter:
In Egypt, the ransacked headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, a vandal raises a flag pic.twitter.com/Sgmy1qab3O
— David D. Kirkpatrick (@kirkpatricknyt) July 1, 2013
Morsi has seen his support plummet since he was inaugurated a year ago. A power grab designed to centralize power around his presidency, coupled with a push for the hasty passage of a controversial constitution grounded in Islamic law, burned political capital necessary to implement badly needed economic reforms. The result has been a downward spiral in economic stability and political legitimacy.