Brotherhood on the back foot after Friday clashes

Al-Masry Al-Youm

".......The Brothers' decision to take to Tahrir only happened later this week, displaying an attachment to the space to which they owe some of their legitimacy and their anxiety to lose it to their adversaries, today's protesters say. 

The story of what sparked the clashes is that supporters of President Mohamed Morsy tore down the stage of the secular Popular Current movement after anti-Morsy chants had been sung.

However, the story doesn’t start there. It rather exposes a deepening rift between the Brothers and other political forces. For months now, there has been resentment by secular forces at the appropriation of Tahrir Square by the Brotherhood dating back to the one-year anniversary of the 25 January revolution, when the Brotherhood stage blared Quranic verses at a loud volume to drown out anti-Brotherhood chants or even prior to that when Brotherhood supporters attempted to end the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes between security forces and protesters in November 2011 without calling for accountability so that the parliamentary elections could go through.

Add in Morsy reaching the 100-day mark in office with a record nowhere near what he had boasted in his program and a march to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Maspero massacre last Tuesday in which chants rang out just as strongly against the Brotherhood as against the military, and it’s been a week in which there have been constant reminders of where Morsy is not delivering when it comes to the revolution.

Rady Hassan, an anti-Morsy protester in the square said, “These are clashes between Egyptians, which is terrible. But the Brotherhood don’t want Tahrir to be a thorn in its side. They don’t want opposing voices in Tahrir because that’s how Mubarak was removed, and they’re acting just like Mubarak did.”

Ashraf, a store attendant in Talaat Harb street, near Tahrir, said this isn’t the first time anti-Brotherhood protesters attempted to be heard amidst the throngs, but on Friday “they are more numerous and so could get into the square.” He contended, “This is what the Brotherhood do, they allow no space for different views.” ......"