Egyptians take quarrel over charter to the polls

An Egyptian woman casts her vote during a referendum on the new Egyptian constitution at a polling station on December 15, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. Egyptians went to vote in the first stage of the referendum on a draft constitution, which has caused controversy and led to bitter division between liberals and Islamists. / Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Updated 4:36 PM ET

CAIRO Egyptians took their quarrel over a draft constitution to polling stations Saturday after weeks of violent turmoil between the newly empowered Islamists and the mostly liberal opposition over the future identity of the nation.

Regardless of the outcome, the heated arguments among voters standing in line signaled that the referendum over the contentious charter is unlikely to end Egypt's worst political crisis since the revolution that ousted Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

The voting capped a nearly two-year struggle over the post-Mubarak identity of Egypt, with the latest crisis over the charter evolving into a dispute over whether Egypt should move toward a religious state under President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and their ultraconservative Salafi allies, or one that retains secular traditions and an Islamic character.

Underlining the tension, some 120,000 army troops were deployed to help the police protect polling stations and state institutions after clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents over the past three weeks left at least 10 people dead and about 1,000 wounded. The large-scale deployment did not stop a mob of supporters of ultraconservative cleric Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail attacking the Cairo offices of the liberal Wafd party, a member of an opposition alliance that has campaigned against the draft constitution.

"Today I would like to offer my condolences to the Egyptian people on the collapse of the rule of law," Wafd leader El-Sayyed el-Badawi said.

The opposition called for a "no" vote, while Morsi's supporters said the constitution will help end the political instability that has roiled Egypt since the autocratic Mubarak was overthrown. Clerics, from the pulpits of mosques, have defended the constitution as a document that champions Islam.

The draft would empower Islamists to carry out the most widespread and strictest implementation of Islamic law that modern Egypt has seen. That authority rests on the three articles that explicitly mention Shariah, or Islamic law, as well as obscure legal language buried in a number of other articles that few noticed during the charter's drafting but that Islamists insisted on including.

According to both supporters and opponents of the draft, the charter not only makes Muslim clerics the arbiters for many civil rights, it also could give a constitutional basis for citizens to set up Saudi-style "religious police" to monitor morals and enforce segregation of the sexes, imposition of Islamic dress codes and even harsh punishments for adultery and theft — regardless of what the laws on the books say.

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For Islamists, the constitution is the keystone for their ambitions to bring Islamic rule, a goal they say is justified by their large victory in last winter's parliamentary elections. Morsi rejected opposition demands that he cancel the referendum.

When voting day finally arrived, the anger and frustration of the past three weeks remained and scenes of voters hotly debating the cons and pros of the constitution or countering each other's take on Morsi, the Brotherhood, the Salafis or reform leader Mohamed ElBaradei were common.

"Those who wrote the constitution are God-fearing men," Mohammed Hassan el-Khatab, a bearded 52-year-old government employee, yelled as he stood in line outside a polling center in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.

"Those opposed to the constitution are just noisy, they have no popular base. Let the people decide," said el-Khatab, whose support for the draft is typical in his low-income el-Siouf district, home to a mix of Christian, Muslim Brotherhood supporters and Salafis.

Girgis Bakheet, a 56-year-old Christian decorator, overheard el-Khatab and decided to weigh in on the debate with an instant dismissal of the notion that being God-fearing is a qualification for writing a constitution.

"This is a constitution that is stillborn. It doesn't represent all people. Arguing that it observes God's laws is a good thing, but only on the face of it. God has nothing to do with constitutions and elections," he said.

Mohammed Hudhaifa, 41 and a school teacher with a light beard, told Bakheet he should not offend Muslim beliefs.

"I am a Muslim whose religion is a way of life that deals with every little and big thing," he said. The constitution, he continued, gives Christians freedom to worship, "But I will not accept that you tear my religion to shreds," he angrily told Bakheet. Feeling threatened by the chorus of endorsement Huddhaifa earned from fellow Muslims in the line, Bakheet bowed out.

"I took part in this revolution and got injured. If I knew it would come to this, I wouldn't have participated," he said as he walked away from the hostile crowd.

Egyptians girls show their inked fingers after casting their votes at a polling station in a referendum on a disputed constitution drafted by Islamist supporters of President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012.

/ AP Photo/Amr Nabil

In Cairo's central and densely populated Sayeda Zeinab district, home to a much revered Muslim shrine, 23-year-old engineer Mohammed Gamal said he was voting "yes" although he felt the proposed constitution needed more, not less, Islamic content.

"Islam has to be a part of everything," said Gamal, who wore the mustache-less beard that is a hallmark of hardline Salafi Muslims.

Flight attendant Iman Naguib Mahfouz, a Christian, had a different take on the crisis, speaking kilometers (miles) away in Nasr City, a district in eastern Cairo that is a Brotherhood stronghold.

"I am a Christian and either way we are living in a Muslim state," she said. "But this president is not representing Egyptians, he's representing the Muslim Brotherhood."

Critics, meanwhile, are questioning the charter's legitimacy after the majority of judges said they would not supervise the vote. Rights groups also warned of opportunities for widespread fraud, and the opposition said a decision to hold the vote on two separate days — Dec. 15 and 22 — to make up for the shortage of judges left the door open for initial results to sway voter opinion in the next round.

The Muslim Brotherhood began to issue partial results based on its own exit polls late Saturday. They showed the "yes" vote to be ahead.

The shortage of judges was reflected in the chaos engulfing some polling stations, which led the election commission to extend voting by four hours until 11 p.m.

The violations reported by monitors included polling centers without judges to oversee the process, civil employees illegally replacing the judges, ballot papers not officially stamped as per regulations, campaigning inside polling stations and Christian voters being turned away.

Mohammed Ahmed, a retired army officer from Cairo, said bearded men he suspects of being Muslim Brotherhood members were whispering "vote yes" to men standing in line outside a polling center in Cairo's poor district of Arab el-Maadi.

"The Brotherhood wants to turn Egypt into its own fiefdom," he claimed.

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[bob555-5555]

Seriously to all those people that say that Sharia law is evil ask yourself:

Would the US Constitution pass today, if it had to be drafted, without references to God, or God's will or "official" religion of the US. What would the "Good, Southern, Christian" States say about that?

The beauty of the US constitution is that it steers clear of religion and expressly forbids any test of religion. No other document, especially in today's society, will ever be like that.

Jews follow God's laws. Christians follow God's laws. Muslims can't follow God's laws?

[rwsmith29456]

If it smells in the least like Sharia law I hope they reject it.

[Filmguy870]

This is REALLY too bad for Egypt!

[friend2008]

I challenge anyone here talks about the project of the new Egyptian constitution, and s/he even read it.

The same issue, when someone talks about Islam or Quran. Most of American never read their constitution and know what is articles. Will it make more sense to read before you talk!

Is not that the same Morsi, Egyptian President, Morsi, who stopped the war and reached a reconciliation between Hamas and Israel.

Thanks

[friend2008]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57556949/u.n-to-israel-open-nuclear-program-to-inspection/
U.N. to Israel: Open nuclear program to inspection. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Monday calling on Israel to quickly open its nuclear program for inspection and backing a high-level conference to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East that was just canceled.

[friend2008]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57556949/u.n-to-israel-open-nuclear-program-to-inspection/
U.N. to Israel: Open nuclear program to inspection. The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution Monday calling on Israel to quickly open its nuclear program for inspection and backing a high-level conference to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East that was just canceled.

[judymar14]

Just my opinion...The muslim brotherhood is in, and plan on staying in. I can't see voting in Egypt meaning anything. Who is 'helping' the people in line how to cast their votes? al-qaeda? Egypt along with the other mid-east countries only know how to be ruled, not led. Would any civilized country do what they have in the last few weeks to oppose a government? I think not! If there are countries in the West that act as they have, I can't think of any so I might be wrong. I can only hope America doesn't stick it's two cents in to bring 'democracy' to Egypt, as we are doing so well in Afghnistan.

A vote in America barely means anything due to our Electorial College.

[Filmguy870]

It's Electoral College. And, yes, each vote DOES mean something.

[mandiegracetaylor]

The people in Cairo could wake up in Tehran and not know the difference a year from now. The first thing that will happen to Egypt now is their tourism will go completely south and they will lose a whole sector of the economy. Egypt will experience a major brain drain. Everyone there with a first class education and a chance to get out of Egypt will immigrate anywhere they can. The country will be left with the owners of coffee houses and open market vendors. They will be strapped for people to run the infrastructure. The virtue police will cause people to suddenly disappear. Anyone going around asking about these people will be classified as sympathizers against the Koran and Allah and will also disappear. People will feel threatened - every secret - every affair - every little alcohol fueled party - every slowly smoked joint - they will wonder if the door will come off the hinges and they are going bye-bye.

This culture will become very old testament - old school. The west should see that the core of our ability to act badly and live immorally without being arrested and stoned comes from the Lord Himself - the Lord we ridicule and reject. When confronted with the Old Testament rite of stoning the woman caught in adultry - he said "look, you guys are in no better shape, quit going around looking for people to execute in their sin - you might wake up to the same judgement." They called it a day. But he said to the woman, "look, you need to stop going around enticing men like this." And she said, "Yes Lord." That is the gift God gives us in the West - and we abuse it terribly - and he bought that gift of freedom for us -

In the East - it's Old Testament and Old School - it's tough - and people don't sit around wondering, "well, if I drop dead in the middle of snorting this coke, will I go to hell?" They sit there in Cairo and wonder - "did my neighbors go to the virtue police and tell them I smoked marijuana in my basement last night?"

They have a very tough road to hoe. But I don't know - what's worse - letting people do everything self destructive without restraint or tear down the doors and drag people off for torture, re-education and possibly death for making mistakes.

[chesney95]

And this is why there will never be peace. If the constitution is based on religion, there are many who are excluded and therefore feel slighted. This develops into tension that will bring unrest.

[jayeatsbeans]

Your headline makes Morsi sound like a bad guy like he is forcing his ideas on the people. Your a disgrace cbs.

[yakirice]

These women are sheep. They have the right to vote now, but letting Shariah law into everything, they won't have the right to vote anymore or any rights at all. They have no idea what they're supporting. Of course liberals and Christians are against this constitution. This all stems out of a revolution backed by the Muslim Brotherhood. In 10-20 years, when Egypt becomes another **** hole like Afghanistan, I'll be sitting here saying I told you so.

[friend2008]

There is nothing good will come from supporting Israel and being involved in Middle East. I promise you, and the time will prove it, that will be changed in the coming 30 years.

Americans get sick of Israel and Middle East's problems.