Is the Egyptian military sowing the seeds of an Islamist insurgency?

Shut out from the government, the Muslim Brotherhood may see no option but to embrace violence

Morsi supporters
(Image credit: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Fresh violence erupted in Egypt on Friday, as security forces clashed with Islamist protesters who had poured into the streets of Cairo for a "Day of Rage" called by the Muslim Brotherhood. At least 60 people were killed in the protests, adding to the 600-plus who died on Wednesday during the military's deadly crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi.

Despite calls for calm from around the world, analysts warned that the Islamists' decision to defy the threat of force and return to the streets signaled that worse violence is yet to come. In fact, the military might have created a huge problem for itself by ousting the country's first freely elected president — with the backing of ostensibly pro-democracy liberals — because it is driving Islamists out of the electoral process and helping extremists rally support for a long-term, violent insurgency.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.