In a photo made available by the Egypt's presidency, Islamist president-elect Mohammed Morsi addresses tens of thousands of Egyptians in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square on Friday. Morsi symbolically swore himself in ahead of today's choreographed ceremony. (AFP/Getty Images)
CAIRO???President-elect Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood pre-empted the military's choreographed swearing-in ceremony by taking his oath of office a day early in a televised speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in Tahrir Square on Friday.
But his rousing tribute to Egyptian sovereignty may be overshadowed by a promise likely to complicate relations with the United States: to work for the release of the Egyptian-born Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, jailed for plotting to bomb a series of New York landmarks.
The comments appeared to come almost offhandedly in the context of a vow to free Egyptian civilians imprisoned here after military trials during the transition after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.
"I see signs for Omar Abdel Rahman and detainees' pictures," he said, referring to placards held by the crowd. "It is my duty and I will make all efforts to have them free, including Omar Abdel Rahman."
Morsi then resumed his themes about the sovereignty of the people, the importance of unity and fidelity to the goals of the Egyptian revolution.
"We will continue as free rebels to achieve the rest of the demands," he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood moved quickly to try to shift the focus of Morsi's pledge, saying in a statement on its website that the goal was a potential humanitarian extradition to Egypt and that there was no attempt to question Abdel Rahman's 1995 convictions for plotting terrorism against targets in the U.S. or Egypt.
The comments could deepen existing U.S. suspicions of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, an 84-year-old Islamist group with a long history of opposition to the policies of both the U.S. and Israel. Morsi, in particular, has a record of strident attacks on Israel over its treatment of the Palestinians, and in an interview with Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Doha Center, Morsi once said he harbored suspicions that still unknown hidden hands played a role in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
Morsi, a 60-year-old U.S.-trained engineer, narrowly defeated Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak's last prime minister and a former air force general, in a runoff race that deeply polarized the nation. Initially put forward as a back-up candidate for the Muslim Brotherhood, he addressed the crowd with a booming voice, flanked by several security guards.
His victory has given Islamists a new boost after they overcame decades of suppression and arrests under Mubarak's secular regime to become Egypt's most influential post-revolutionary political force. However, the military has fought to check the Brotherhood's rise and maintain its hold on the reins of power.
At one point he opened his jacket to show the crowd he wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest, saying he "fears no one but God."
The speech ironically brought Republican Guard forces back to the square ? a rare occurrence as government security forces have avoided the area to avoid provoking protesters angry over continued military influence.
However, he read an informal oath during his speech to the delight of the crowd. Many chanted "We love you Morsi" and "Oh marshal tell the truth, Morsi is your president, or not," referring to the head of the ruling military panel Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.
The ruling generals have promised to transfer power to an elected president by Sunday. But they also have given themselves sweeping powers that undercut the authority of the president. The constitutional declaration ? issued days before the winner of a runoff vote was announced ? also designated the generals the country's legislature in place of the disbanded parliament.
The disbanding of parliament forced Morsi to take his oath in front of the Constitutional Court, which ruled against the parliament and whose judges were appointed by ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
Source: http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_20976436/fight-authority?source=rss
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