Islamist political organisation, the Salafi Front, announced that it will stage a new wave of protests under the name “The Muslim Youth Uprising” on 28 November. The protests come as a response to “secular attempts to weaken the Islamic identity and Sharia”.
The group issued a statement Friday promising a new mobilisation “to defy those who authorised the murder of Muslim youths in the streets, the arrest of tens of thousands, and the closure of mosques”.
The conservative group, who supported ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, called for an Islamic revolution “that reveals the conspiracies of secularism”. The group also said the revolution is to defend the Islamic identity and to demand justice.
Khaled Said, spokesperson for the group, said that the planned uprising aims to confront the current regime and to unite all Islamist movements under one umbrella.
“There are a lot of Islamist groups that are spread across the country,” according to Said. “The Anti-Coup Alliance (ACA) is not making an effort to unite them.”
Said added that the call is not specifically directed to members of the Salafist ideology, asserting that it is for all Muslims, hence the name “The Muslim Youth Uprising”.
The Salafi Front presents itself as a movement that includes different arrays of Salafi thought from different parts of Egypt. Acting as one of the components of the ACA, the group boycotted the national referendum on the draft constitution which took place last January.
“After a year and a half of confrontations with the security apparatus and the government, we came to the conclusion that an Islamic revolution and the implementation of Islamic Sharia is the only salvation,” Said added.
He also said that the term “Islamic revolution” should not alienate any sects of protesters, as the “majority of Egyptians are Muslim and the majority of revolutionary youth are Muslims.”
Islamic organisations have taken different sides after the ouster of Morsi last June. While the majority of Islamist groups opposed the government, the Al-Nour Party and Islamic institution Al-Azhar claimed their support of the 30 June protests and the government that took over afterwards.
The Front, a vocal opponent of the Al-Sisi government, lately condemned the events taking place in Sinai in a Friday statement, accusing the armed forces of “torturing the innocent” by relocating residents from the border area.
On the other side, Mohamed Al-Amir, an Al-Azhar Mosque preacher, said Friday: “The Egyptian army is currently undertaking a sacred mission of combating terrorism and the Egyptian people should support it.”
