During Anti-Brotherhood protests by the presidential palace ,24 August (Photo: Mai Shaheen)
After the low-turnout of protesters during anti-Brotherhood protests Friday, several activists who refused to take part in the demonstrations used Twitter to say that the true oppositional movement is yet to come.
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the presidential palace in Cairo Friday to protest what they saw as an "Islamicisation" of Egypt at the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Yesterday's protesters are not the true opposition. We will judge Morsi's promises at the end of the 100 days he asked for," said Haitham El-Shawaf, general coordinator of the Alliance of the Revolutionary Forces.
El-Shawaf's statement was echoed by many activists who described Friday's protests as highly orchestrated by remnants of the former regime.
"There is a difference between those opposing the Muslim Brotherhood to replace it with the old regime, and with those who want neither," said activist Salma Said.
Said added that taking the streets now needs to be done "through specific demands such as health, education and freedom, not only against the Brotherhood."
Meanwhile, Saad Al-Husseini, member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau, described the low turnout of the protests as a slap in the face by "the Egyptian people to the enemies of democracy and [those] who supported military rule."
"The issue is not about numbers, and doesn’t reflect the number of the Brotherhood opposition," said prominent activist Asmaa Mahfouz, who underlined on her Twitter account that she disagrees with the 24 August protesters.
Mahfouz also stated: "There are people who hate both the Muslim Brotherhood and the remnants of the former regime yet chose to stay at home."
Author Belal Fadl called for "a free opposition," adding that he hopes that President Morsi "doesn't assume that this (the 24 August protesters) is the amount of opposition that awaits him."
Mahmoud Afifi, spokesman of the 6 April Youth Movement, suggested that the reasons behind many revolutionaries choosing not to protest was that they know "the true purpose behind the protests."
"The Muslim Brotherhood will lose massively if they are deceived into thinking that yesterday's events represent their true opposition," added Afifi.
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