Back in the news cycle (again)

Although Friday is the holy day of the week for Muslims, Friday protests against the military government here continue unabated. The protestors are a strange mixture. Some are conservative Muslims, many of them members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who want Egypt's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, released from jail and reinstalled. In early July, Morsi was removed from power by the Egyptian military, and he has been in jail awaiting trial on conspiracy charges since. Other protestors are liberal-minded Egyptians, usually students in their late teens and early twenties, who may or may not have been Morsi supporters but who want an end to military rule.

Since July there have been mass protests, many of them ironically culminating on a Friday, the holy day of the week throughout the Muslim world. When afternoon prayers end the mosques empty out, and the protests begin. With the speed of a superhero, a worshiper transforms into a street protestor in a couple of minutes; no phone booth needed.

Since August, when the military government cracked down on two camps of pro-Morsi and pro-democracy supporters and killed hundreds, the weekly Friday protests have been relatively tame and peaceful. Nonetheless, they have happened. It was only a matter of time until a particularly fervent group mustered up the courage to attempt to carry their street protest into the hermetically sealed Tahrir Square, the launch pad for the 2011 Revolution.

A large and boisterous group made such an attempt on the night of October 4th. They came with flags and banners, rocks and Molotov cocktails. They were met by police squads armed with tear gas cannisters and live ammunition. Four protestors died.

This coming Sunday is a holiday here in Egypt; Armed Forces Day. Given that not all Egyptians want to celebrate the role of the military in society right now, we are expecting more trouble this weekend and on into Monday. In two weeks the religious celebration of Eid begins, and many Egyptians will have the week off. Most will enjoy a huge feasts, dining with family and friends. Others will take to the streets. Protests will continue unabated. We are bracing ourselves - unfortunately - for another round of violence. 

Postscript (October 7, 2013): Sadly, 51 protestors were killed throughout Egypt on Armed Forces Day.