After days of mass protests, the Egyptian army declared it was removing Mohammed Morsi and creating a new roadmap for Egypt. Where will it all lead?
As we have reported over the last year, the Muslim Brotherhood’s rise to power in Egypt has been fraught with controversy, culminating June 30 with massive protests on the anniversary of President Morsi’s election.
“Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said the constitution had been suspended and the chief justice of the constitutional court would take on Mr. Morsi’s powers.
“Flanked by religious and opposition leaders, Gen. Sisi said Mr. Morsi had ‘failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people.’
“Anti-Morsi protesters in Cairo gave a huge cheer in response to the speech.
“The army’s move to depose the president follows four days of mass street demonstrations against Mr. Morsi, and an ultimatum issued by the military which expired on Wednesday afternoon.”
Fighting words?
Before the army’s deadline, the Muslim Brotherhood seemed anything but conciliatory to its opponents. Haaretz reported:
“Muslim Brotherhood vows to ‘stand in front of tanks,’ refuses invitation to meet commander of armed forces … Morsi says [he] would prefer to die ‘standing straight like a tree’ than destroying Egypt’s hope for democracy.”
However, after Morsi was removed, UPI reported that “Muslim Brotherhood officials called on supporters to oppose Morsi’s ouster in a non-violent manner while Salafists called for use of every means against the move, Israel’s Channel 10 said.”
What will happen next? Will the army’s show of force in Cairo and other cities be enough to contain the violence, or will a new wave of protests or violent riots break out? Is Egypt headed for civil war?
The situation in Egypt and the Middle East is central to Bible prophecy, so for understanding of what God says will happen in the region, we encourage you to read the articles in our section on the “Middle East in Bible Prophecy.”
Background information
For more background information, see our previous News and Prophecy Blog posts:
Mike Bennett is editorial content manager for the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in the Dallas, Texas, area. He coordinates the Life, Hope & Truth website, Discern magazine, the Daily Bible Verse Blog and the Life, Hope & Truth Weekly Newsletter (including World Watch Weekly). He is also part of the Personal Correspondence team of ministers who have the privilege of answering questions sent to Life, Hope & Truth.
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