Anti-Morsi protests threaten to go even wider

Egyptians protest against a power grab by President Mohamed Morsi in the city of Alexandria, November 27, 2012. / AFP/Getty Images

CAIRO Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi faced the prospect of widening civil disobedience on Monday as media and the tourism industry pondered measures to join a protest by judges against the Islamist leader.

The country's judges have already gone on strike over Morsi's Nov. 22 decrees that placed him above judicial oversight.

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Morsi announces Egyptian vote on constitution

Following those decrees, a panel dominated by the president's Islamist supporters rushed through a new draft constitution without participation of representatives of liberals, the Christian minority or women. Morsi then called a national referendum on Dec. 15 to approve the new constitution.

An opposition coalition dominated by the liberal and leftist groups that led last year's uprising had already called for a general strike on Tuesday and a large demonstration against the constitutional process and Morsi's decree. They plan to march on the presidential palace in the capital Cairo.

Newspapers plan to suspend publication on Tuesday while privately owned TV networks will go dark all day. The full front pages of Egypt's most prominent newspapers on Monday said: "No to dictatorship" on a black background with a picture of a man wrapped in newspaper and with his feet cuffed.

Copies of newspapers running black-background front pages with Arabic that reads, "No to dictatorship," and an image of a man wrapped in newspapers with his feet cuffed, are seen at the offices of al-Masri al-Youm.

/ AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

Hotels and restaurants are considering switching off their lights for half an hour on Tuesday to protest against Morsi, according to the Supporting Tourism Coalition an independent body representing tourism industry employees.

Morsi's moves have plunged an already polarized Egypt in the worst political crises since the uprising nearly two years ago that ousted authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak.

The crisis left the country divided between Morsi and his Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood along with another ultraconservative Islamist group, the Salafis, in one camp and their opposition in the other — youth groups, liberal parties and large sectors of the public.

The opposition brought out at least 200,000 protesters to Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday and a comparable number Friday to demand that Morsi's decrees be rescinded. For ten days, protesters have camped out in the square and planned for a massive rally at the presidential palace on Tuesday.

The Islamists responded Saturday with hundreds of thousands of protesters in Cairo's twin city of Giza. Thousands took to the streets and imposed a siege on Egypt's highest court, the Supreme Constitutional Court.

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The court had been widely expected to hand down a ruling on Sunday that would declare the constitutional assembly that passed the draft charter illegitimate and disband parliament's upper house, the Shura Council. But instead, the judges went on strike after they found their building under siege by protesters.

Three of Morsi's aides have also resigned over his decree. Two members of the official National Council of Human Rights quit on Monday, describing the decrees as "disastrous." They expressed "real fears" of Brotherhood hegemony in Egypt.

The new draft constitution has been criticized for not providing protection for women's and minority rights. Critics say it empowers Islamic religious clerics by giving them a say over legislation while some articles were seen as tailored to get rid of Islamists' enemies.

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[Tabatha911]

The muslim brotherhood & salafi's cannot be trusted.

Their agenda is to enforce sharia law.

Sharia Law is oppressive.

Cutting of hand's and feet for crimes such as stealing, stoning for women committing adultry, converts out of Islam sentenced to death, public whipping for wearing non-islamic clothing, beating of women accepted as disciplinary action, pouring of acid on the faces of females & blinding of one eye for refusing marriage and so forth.

[M-Saeed]

hi all and cbs news comments

Well'
my view on this stage, if the egyptian people play their future on plotical arena will be a desastar one.
Falles, carefull on this situation don't politicies your future and make votes. First but the Egyptian people intrest in golobal scale level, not political parties.
Egypt is more than 90million population is diffrent view clans in Suadi Arabia and yeman the scenario and scale of general intrest is diffrent. Consider your future dont follow an illusion tricks to cover up regional dictators. Try to root out the huge scale of poverty and housing conditions.

Thanks