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| Thousands of Morsi Supporters Rally in Egypt | Thousands of Morsi Supporters Rally in Egypt |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| CAIRO — Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian Islamists and other supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president who was ousted and detained by the military last week, filled public squares in Cairo and other cities on Friday in an intensified campaign aimed at returning him to power. The United States also dialed up its criticism, calling on Egypt’s interim authorities to release Mr. Morsi. | |
| The size of the protests underlined both the large section of society that has rejected the military intervention on July 3 that deposed Mr. Morsi after millions protested against him, and the continued split over the country’s direction. | |
| In Washington, the State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said the United States concurred with an assertion made earlier in the day by Germany that Mr. Morsi should be released. Asked about Germany’s position at a daily briefing, she said, “We do agree.” | |
| Ms. Psaki declined to specify whether the United States still recognized Mr. Morsi as the president of Egypt. But her response about his detention appeared to reflect growing concern by the Obama administration over the interim government’s promises to move toward new elections and an inclusive democratic system. | |
| Mr. Morsi’s supporters have denounced what they view as the Obama administration’s tepid criticisms, and some have accused the United States of quietly approving Mr. Morsi’s ouster. The Obama administration has pointedly refrained from calling the military intervention a coup, which could trigger an American law requiring a cutoff of aid to Egypt. | |
| Mr. Morsi has been held incommunicado in an undisclosed location since Egypt’s generals ordered him removed from power. They have said he is in custody for his own safety. But the interim government has also signaled that it may be preparing to prosecute him. | |
| With many of Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters finding new motivation during the holy month of Ramadan, which started on Wednesday, the largest pro-Morsi sit-in, in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City, swelled to take on an increasing air of durability. | With many of Mr. Morsi’s Islamist supporters finding new motivation during the holy month of Ramadan, which started on Wednesday, the largest pro-Morsi sit-in, in the Cairo suburb of Nasr City, swelled to take on an increasing air of durability. |
| Speakers attached to lampposts blasted the voices of speakers, singers and Koran readers on a central stage. Hundreds of tents have been erected on traffic islands and on side streets, where protesters fasting during the midday heat sleep on blankets, sheets of cardboard or asphalt streets. | |
| The sit-in also serves as a safe zone of sorts for Muslim Brotherhood leaders and other members who are among the hundreds who have been put on wanted lists by the authorities since Mr. Morsi’s ouster. | The sit-in also serves as a safe zone of sorts for Muslim Brotherhood leaders and other members who are among the hundreds who have been put on wanted lists by the authorities since Mr. Morsi’s ouster. |
| Speaking in a wing of the mosque at the center of the sit-in, Mohamed el-Beltagy, a former Parliament member and Brotherhood leader, laughed off his status as a wanted man, but said he had not left the encampment in days. | Speaking in a wing of the mosque at the center of the sit-in, Mohamed el-Beltagy, a former Parliament member and Brotherhood leader, laughed off his status as a wanted man, but said he had not left the encampment in days. |
| “I’m not scared, but I stay here for the revolution,” he said. | “I’m not scared, but I stay here for the revolution,” he said. |
| The authorities have accused him and other Brotherhood leaders of inciting violence against the army. | The authorities have accused him and other Brotherhood leaders of inciting violence against the army. |
| Mr. Beltagy rejected statements by the new interim prime minister that held out the possibility that he may offer ministerial positions to members of the Muslim Brotherhood. | Mr. Beltagy rejected statements by the new interim prime minister that held out the possibility that he may offer ministerial positions to members of the Muslim Brotherhood. |
| “They are shooting us and calling us terrorists who belong in prison, so how can they offer us ministerial portfolios?” he said. | “They are shooting us and calling us terrorists who belong in prison, so how can they offer us ministerial portfolios?” he said. |
| Denying that there are any negotiations between Brotherhood leaders and the authorities of the military-led interim government over a way out of the crisis, he said that they would accept early presidential elections, but only after Mr. Morsi is returned to power. | Denying that there are any negotiations between Brotherhood leaders and the authorities of the military-led interim government over a way out of the crisis, he said that they would accept early presidential elections, but only after Mr. Morsi is returned to power. |
| “We have no objection to early presidential elections after the return of the president and the Shura Council and the Constitution,” he said, referring to the upper house of Parliament. “We have no problem with early presidential elections, but under elected institutions, not under a tank.” | “We have no objection to early presidential elections after the return of the president and the Shura Council and the Constitution,” he said, referring to the upper house of Parliament. “We have no problem with early presidential elections, but under elected institutions, not under a tank.” |
| Other protesters said they too foresaw a possibly protracted sit-in to press their demands. | Other protesters said they too foresaw a possibly protracted sit-in to press their demands. |
| “I’ll stay until President Morsi is back in the presidential palace and the military is back in its barracks,” said Sayed Ragab, 43, an English teacher from a town north of Cairo who has not left his tent camp in eight days. | |
| He and his friends and brought wood to build a tent, covered it with a tarpaulin and then laid out blankets for all to sleep on. Since the start of Ramadan, they have put their money together to buy food, mostly an Egyptian fava bean dish called fuul. | He and his friends and brought wood to build a tent, covered it with a tarpaulin and then laid out blankets for all to sleep on. Since the start of Ramadan, they have put their money together to buy food, mostly an Egyptian fava bean dish called fuul. |
| “Ramadan and fasting increase our will to continue,” Mr. Ragab said, brushing off a question about not eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset in the heat. | |
| Others said they had come not only to express their political opinions but also to soak up the atmosphere. Merchants have been plying the streets with everything from staplers to T-shirts reading “martyr project” to paper masks of Mr. Morsi’s face. | Others said they had come not only to express their political opinions but also to soak up the atmosphere. Merchants have been plying the streets with everything from staplers to T-shirts reading “martyr project” to paper masks of Mr. Morsi’s face. |
| Jihan Darwish said she had been bringing her four children, ages 10 to 18, every day for the last week. | Jihan Darwish said she had been bringing her four children, ages 10 to 18, every day for the last week. |
| “We walk around, listen to the speakers on the stage, meet people and sit in the shade and read the Koran,” she said. | “We walk around, listen to the speakers on the stage, meet people and sit in the shade and read the Koran,” she said. |
| She said that she had no intention of sleeping at the sit-in, but that she would keep returning. | |
| “We’ll keep coming back until the return of the legitimate president because what happened is a military coup,” she said. | “We’ll keep coming back until the return of the legitimate president because what happened is a military coup,” she said. |
Ben Hubbard reported from Cairo, and Rick Gladstone from New York. |