(From June 29, 2013)
CAIRO — More than 22 million Egyptians have signed a petition calling for the country’s Islamist president to step down, the youth group leading the signature campaign said Saturday, on the eve of mass protests aimed at forcing Mohammed Morsi from office.
The planned demonstrations, which could plunge Egypt into a dangerous round of civil unrest again, reflect the growing polarization of the nation since Morsi took power, with the president and his Islamist allies in one camp and seculars, liberals, moderate Muslims and Christians in the other.
Egypt, with 82 million people, is the world’s most populous Arab country.