Egyptians Rally in Tahrir Square to Celebrate Victory and Mourn Martyrs of the Revolution

Egyptians Rally in Tahrir Square to Celebrate Victory and Mourn Martyrs of the Revolution

An impressive crowd rallied during Friday’s Tahrir Square Victory celebration as Dr. Yusuf Qaradawi delivered a stirring sermon, calling on Egyptians to preserve national unity, pressing for democratic progress.

The leading Muslim scholar called on the crowds not to let anyone steal their revolution, adding that the revolution is not over yet and that it has just started to build Egypt and to guard their revolution.

Qaradawi reassured Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority, stating that in this Tahrir, sectarianism died. He also praised Copts for linking hands to symbolically protect Muslims while they prayed during the uprising. He accused the regime of planting sectarianism and called on Egypt’s new military rulers to quickly restore civilian rule and called for a new government and the immediate release of all political prisoners.

Addressing Egyptians in a televised sermon he called on the Egyptian army to liberate Egypt from the government that Mubarak formed and to sack the cabinet dominated by old regime figures stressing “We want a new government that doesn’t include the old faces. When people see the old faces, it reminds them of hunger, poverty, misery”. Qaradawi stated the ousted regime stole $3 trillion during the reign, which he stressed   was sufficient enough to cover the debts, and achieve a comprehensive economic revival.

He urged the Egyptian army to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip and prayed that the Aqsa Mosque be freed from its occupiers.

Ending his sermon he called on the people to have faith and remain patient reminding them that change would not come overnight asserting that the world was not created in one day.

According to Shadi Hamid, research director at the Brookings Institute’s Doha Center in Qatar, the real message was, ‘don’t mess with Egyptians,’ stressing that it was a clear message to the military, warning them that the people are still willing to come out in massive numbers and it is going to continue indefinitely if needed.
Following the prayers, thousands broke out into shouts of ‘no to Hosni, no to his regime, no to his supporters’.