South of the capital, gunmen fired on a car carrying Christians, killing two. While the motive was unknown, similar events have sparked religious violence in the past.
In the largest crowd to fill the square since the popular uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in February, Salafis chanted for the implementation of strict Islamic law — spurring accusations that they violated an agreement to keep the rally free from divisive issues.
They have come in a show of force to demand that the country’s caretaker authority, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, cease its plans to present a set of principles that will form a framework for a new constitution.
Islamist group’s such as the Muslim Brotherhood – Egypt's best organized political force – and the former terrorist organization Gamaa Islamiya along with disparate Salafist bodies argue that only God’s word is greater than a constitution and that only a parliament chosen by free election can set the terms for a constitution. These groups stayed away from recent demonstrations that sought to keep up pressure on the military council that took power after former president Hosni Mubarak's fall, leading to smaller crowds.
The groups believe that they will poll enough support to dominate such a parliament and thereby set the terms. They fear that a kind of bill of rights could close off the possibility of a state run by Islamic laws.
The secular youths who once dominated this central Cairo square are in a distinct minority these days, and especially on Friday, dominated as it is by Islamists.
Liberal parties endorse the measure in an effort to limit what they fear will be outsized Islamist influence on the new document should religious groups win a large share of the parliament. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has accepted the idea.
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