Thousands demonstrate for an Islamic state in Egypt

BEN HUBBARD

The Associated Press

Published Friday, Jul. 29, 2011 6:34AM EDT

Last updated Friday, Jul. 29, 2011 2:11PM ED

Calls for an Islamic state have taken over Cairo’s Tahrir Square as the largest demonstration since February has been mobilized by the country’s Islamist organizations. Ultraconservative Muslims turned out in force Friday as hundreds of thousands filled Cairo's central Tahrir Square in a rally marked by a growing rift in the protest movement.

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VIDEO

Protesters return to Tahrir Square

PHOTOS

In Pictures: Thousands demonstrate in Cairo

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. Read the rest on: The Globe and Mail

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• Egyptian protesters back on Tahrir Square (rt.com)
• In Egypt, Islamists Outnumbering Liberals in Tahrir Square (time.com)
• Egypt Islamists lead Cairo rally (bbc.co.uk)
• Egyptian liberals forced out of protest by Islamic demonstrators (telegraph.co.uk)