Muslim fundamentalists are warning that they are ready to shed their blood in Tahrir Square, if the Military Council decides to delay parliamentary elections due in November. Egypt’s fundamentalists have also announced September 27 as the date for an end to the transitional period in post-revolution Egypt.
Since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted on February 11, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has been ruling the nation; it is also responsible for supervising the transfer of power to a civil government and an elected president.
It was the Muslim Brotherhood, who threw down the gauntlet to the army generals during a mass rally organised in Alexandria, widely regarded as a bastion for Egypt’s fundamentalists and Salafis (ultra-fundamentalists).
Hassan el-Prince, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s administrative bureau, told devotees: “We are prepared to organise mass demonstrations and be martyred if [the Military Council] refuses to initiate arrangements for the forthcoming parliamentary elections.”
The group’s devotees cheered their colleague when he reminded the Military Council that they fully appreciate the value of martyrdom. “More martyrs, more mass demonstrations and more sit-ins will be organised in Tahrir Square unless [the Military Council and its head, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi] give in to the nation’s will.”
This new escalation erupted when the Government said that parliamentary elections should be organised in December and January. The organisation’s challenge to the Military Council has given rise to suggestions that the honeymoon between the generals and the fundamentalists is over.
Full Article: Egypt army warned of election delay – The Egyptian Gazette.