"Voting yes is like jihad for the sake of Allah": Waving swords and clubs, pro-Sharia mobs attack opponents of new Egyptian constitution

"Voting yes is like jihad for the sake of God." Opponents of the constitution are "followers of infidels." "Tomorrow is the day we will seek the victory of Islam." "Saturday will be the day of victory for Sharia."

"Tempers rise ahead of vote on Egypt charter," by Sarah El Deeb and Maggie Michael for the Associated Press, December 14 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

CAIRO (AP) — Waving swords and clubs, Islamist supporters of Egypt's draft constitution clashed with opponents in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria on Friday as tempers flared on the eve of the referendum on the disputed charter — the country's worst political crisis since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

Both sides stepped up their campaigns after weeks of violence and harsh divisions that have turned Saturday's vote into a fight over Egypt's post-revolutionary identity. Highlighting the tension that may lie ahead, nearly 120,000 army soldiers will deploy to protect polling stations. A radical Islamist group also said it will send its own members to defend the stations alongside the army and police.

The referendum pits Egypt's newly empowered Islamists against liberals, many apolitical Christians and secular-leaning Muslims. President Mohammed Morsi's supporters say the constitution will help end the political instability that has gripped Egypt since February 2011, when the autocratic Mubarak was overthrown in a popular uprising. Clerics, using mosque pulpits, defend the constitution as championing Islam.

Morsi's opponents say minority concerns have been ignored and the charter is full of obscurely worded clauses that could allow Islamists to restrict civil liberties, ignore women's rights and undermine labor unions. They charge the constitution will enslave Egyptians....

Thousands of Islamists filled a square in eastern Cairo, raising pictures of Morsi. A few kilometers (miles) away, the opposition chanted for a "no" vote in a sit-in outside the presidential palace. Liberal groups sent vehicles mounted with loudspeakers urging voters to cross "no" in their ballots.

Religious authorities had issued orders that mosques should not be used to manipulate the vote, but several clerics took to the pulpit to tell their congregations that voting in favor of the constitution is a way to seek victory for Islam.

In Alexandria, witness Mustafa Saqa said Sheik Ahmed el-Mahalawi, a well-known cleric in the ultraconservative Islamic sect known as Salafis, urged worshippers to vote "yes" and described the opposition as "followers of infidels." His comments sparked arguments that quickly turned into fist fights and spread into the streets and residential areas around the mosque.

At least 19 people were reported injured in the violence and police fired tear gas to break up a standoff. State TV showed footage of Islamists brandishing swords as protesters hurled rocks at each other, with el-Mahalawi remained barricaded in the mosque for hours following his sermon.

Clashes erupted again just before midnight, when el-Mahalawi told protesters outside the mosque that if they don't disperse, his supporters will come free him. Minutes later, rocks were thrown at the protesters, and gunfire crackled in the distance. An Associated Press reporter on the scene saw at least four people injured from rock-throwing.

Clashes also broke out in the town of Nagaa Hammadi, 460 kilometers (290 miles) south of Cairo.

Sheik Osama el-Hawi, also a Salafi, told worshippers that approval of the constitution was the only way to restore stability after nearly two years of turmoil following the revolution that ousted Mubarak.

"Saturday will be the day of victory for Shariah (Islamic law)," he said. His followers then briefly fought with protesters marching outside the mosque.

For many, the message in support of the constitution was a simple one: A "Yes" to the constitution is a yes to Islam.

Sheik Mohammed Sayyed, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, put it bluntly during prayers at the el-Helali mosque elsewhere in Assiut. "Tomorrow is the day we will seek the victory of Islam," he said.

"The first phase of implementing Shariah (Islamic law) is the election of a Muslim president. The second phase is to hold a referendum on the constitution," he said, urging voters to go to the polls in groups. "Those calling themselves liberals and the salvation of Egypt are saboteurs who sabotage Egypt."

In the southern city of Assuit, Sheik Abdel-Akher Hamad also urged worshippers to vote "yes."

"Voting yes is like jihad for the sake of God," he said during his sermon. "It preserves Egypt from evils and from those who want to sabotage Islam and Muslims."...

If the constitution is approved by a simple majority of voters, the Islamists would gain even more power. The current upper house of parliament, dominated by Islamists, would be given the authority to legislate until a new parliament is elected....

At least publicly, the cleric at his mosque remained neutral.

"Those who think that rejecting or approving the constitution is the path to heaven or hell is mistaken," he said, referring to a slogan used by some supporters of the draft constitution. "No one rules whether someone goes to heaven or hell but God almighty."