I replied back with the story of another comrade, who was entering the MOD sit-in and was being searched by a Salafi sheikh. When the latter found in the student’s bag the flag of the Revolutionary Socialists, Marxist books, as well as issues from The Socialist newspaper, he told the young student: “Come in son, May God be with you!”

These were just two stories, among many, witnessed by our comrades during the controversial MOD sit-in which lasted for a week, during which it was subject to attacks by knives, swords, firearms, machine guns, fired by plainclothes thugs working closely with the army, and was finally suspended by a crackdown by the military police and army’s special forces last Friday, resulting in the arrest and torture of hundreds.

The sit-in started by a group of supporters of the disqualified Salafi presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, who marched on the Ministry of Defense Friday night, 27 April, and decided to stage a sit-in calling for the dissolution of the Presidential Electoral Committee, which they blamed for the disqualification of their candidate, but the SCAF-controlled committee has also been the target of the revolutionaries’ wrath from all shades of the political spectrum.

If you think Islamophobia is on a worrying rise in Europe, you should have seen the Egyptian twittersphere during that week of sit-in, with liberals and leftists reacting in the most disgustingly way.

There are those who by default will stand against anything Islamist, anything with a beard or niqab, and will avoid them like a plague. Hence their position varied from neutrality, as if this fight between the Islamists and the army is happening on another planet; or praying that the two sides by some miracle will finish one another off; or support the army’s crackdown on those Islamists.

And of course you got the usual “مش وقته” chorus, which always comes up whenever there are clashes with the police and the army, shouting “It’s not the time for this, we have other important matters.” And usually those “important matters” are elections, or another SCAF-sponsored milestone in the political process.

But the “Islamists” are NOT a unified homogeneous block. We are talking about millions of Egyptians from different backgrounds and provinces who are part of the Muslim Brotherhood and the different Salfist groups. It’s even wrong to lump “Salafists” all in one basket. Let’s remember that young Salafis took part in the January 2011 uprising contrary to virtually all the Salafi celebrity sheikhs’ pro-Mubarak position. Many of the workers I have been bumping into during strikes from 2007 onwards have beards that almost reach their bellies and are followers of Salafi sheikhs. The latter had prohibited strikes and demonstrations, yet their poor followers obviously were moving in a different direction. Already the salafi movement is splintered, and the dismal performance of Abu Ismail in the crisis, including disowning repeatedly his supporters, is bound to create a disillusioned base. Isn’t there a critical mass that could be won to the side of revolution? Of course there is, and the revolutionary socialists have to play a role in influencing this base as much as they can, according to their capabilities and political weight.

There is nothing more farcical than the notion that the Muslim Brotherhood is an iron fist organization whose members are following the Supreme Guide’s orders blindly. The organization has been marred with factions and splits for years along generational and class lines. Despite refraining from mobilizing an entire year following February 2011, there is not a single time a serious clash happened with the state without stumbling on a group of young MB members who attended the protests or the clashes contrary to the group’s line. And I personally witnessed that on several occasions.

What do you do as a revolutionary socialist in the midst of this? One should not stop exposing the hypocrisy and the counterrevolutionary politics of the MB leadership, but we should not give up on trying to attract the youth and those in the MB who are sincerely pro-revolution once again to the revolutionary camp and even winning them to socialist politics, something that I’m also increasingly witnessing. And that’s not going to happen by sitting on Twitter and ranting about the MBs like many leftists are doing, but by physically being present on the ground in the events they organize, and continuously argue and debate with their young members. And when a fight breaks out with the state, you don’t withdraw and say may God burn them both, you have to take sides. But you take sides, while still maintaining your organizational independence and fight under your own red banner and shout your own chants.

The MOD sit-in presented a step forward for the revolution, not a regress, despite the army’s onslaught that saw several comrades detained, and brutally tortured. We have taken the fight to a new level, breaking a great taboo, which is staging sit-ins and direct actions in front of the headquarters of the counterrevolution itself; as well as reaching out to and earning the respect of the most revolutionary wing of the Salafist movement. I salute the bravery of all the comrades who took part in the sit in and in resisting the army’s crackdown.

All Revolutionary Socialist activists and sympathizers are now out of prison, but there are hundreds of Islamists, independent activists and ordinary citizens who are still languishing in custody and await military prosecution. We must do our best to stand by them and secure their release. We will continue to organize against SCAF and we should be more than keen to reach out to the Islamist cadres who are willing to join this fight. The polarization within the Islamist movement will only increase with every betrayal and compromise the Islamist leadership brokers with SCAF, with every confrontation with the state, with the growth of a revolutionary left that could provide an alternative for the disillusioned youth, and more importantly with the escalation of the strike wave. But in all cases, we must be vigilant enough to remain organizationally independent, move under our own banners, with our own literature, and compromise none. Sometimes with the Islamists, never with the state.

A photo of the brave US-sponsored army special forces banning protesters from marching in the symbolic funeral of 23 year old Muhammad Mohsen, who died in the Abbassiya clashes that broke out thanks to the army’s incitement against Tahrir protesters.

Note how this army officer in the front is carrying a whip!

The planned 23 July march on SCAF headquarters in Heliopolis started from Tahrir sometime close 5pm. The march was initially around five thousand strong, but soon swelled to more than 20,000 protesters. I’m giving here the most conservative estimate; some friends think the numbers went up to 50,000. Where did those people come from? They were ordinary people in the streets or residents we passed through their neighborhoods. And it’s important to remember this, and shove it in the face of those who claim protests and marches do not enjoy the support of the public any more.

The march left Tahrir via Abdel Moneim Riyadh Square, and continued down Emtidad Ramses Street, and into Ghamra. Protesters were chanting beautifully rhymed slogans against Field Marshal Tantawi, SCAF, and police torture. They were chanting for social justice, bread and civil liberties.

As we approached Abbassiya, we started receiving news that the military police and the army special forces have blocked the road by the Nour Mosque with machine gun-mounted armored vehicles and barbed wires. We also received news there were “thugs” preparing Molotov cocktails and swords awaiting us.

But as we entered Abbassiya and passed by the cathedral, no problems whatsoever had happened. On the contrary, residents from the windows were cheering us, and some were throwing water bottles on the demand of thirsty protesters. It was a scene that reminded me of the Friday of Anger march, except we were heading to Tahrir on that day to topple Mubarak, while yesterday we were marching on the same route in the opposite direction, heading to overthrow Mubarak’s loyal generals, the SCAF.

The calm did not last for long. As soon as we reached the Nour Mosque, we found rows of army soldiers and officers, with the interior ministry’s Central Security Forces lined behind them. We stood our ground, demanding we pass. We were refused. Chants started immediately against Tantawi. The attack started. Young men carrying swords and knives flocked to our right, while others were stoning us from the side streets. Army soldiers kept firing their machine guns into the air, to be followed later by a chopper circulating around our heads. It was a war zone in every sense of the word.

The army has been inciting against our march already for days on the state-run channels, accusing the Tahrir protesters of being “thugs, foreign agents” bla bla bla. The army also, according to Abbassiya residents I spoke with, has been going around in the neighborhood since the previous night, telling people in the neighborhood that they “will be attacked by foreign paid thugs” the follow day. Those “foreign paid thugs” were of course, us.

Those who attacked us yesterday included criminal thugs from the Waily district, but also some residents of Abbassiya who did buy the army’s lies. The army was already on the roof tops before our arrival, the same roof tops Molotov cocktails and rocks were showered at us from.

The clashes went on for hours. We were besieged: the army and the police on one side, while the thugs blocking our way back to Tahrir. Scores were injured and detained. I personally carried one protester to the nearby hospital, and his left leg was dislocated completely, before my right leg was injured by some projectile or rock, I don’t know.

The army stood silent, watching the battle ground, hoping the thugs and the residents would finish us off, while the police was more than happy to join in by throwing rounds and rounds of tear gas. We managed to return to Tahrir in small groups via the neighboring hospital late at night.

Dear SCAF, you are a bunch of filthy cowards, who resort to lies and knife-wielding thugs to attack peaceful protesters. You prove day after day you are nothing but Mubarak’s loyal generals, who have hijacked this revolution. I wish nothing short of seeing you and your big boss Tantawi in court soon, to pay for your crimes.

A march was being planned for tomorrow 23 July, but the patience of protesters had already run out and the march took off tonight. I’m not there at the moment, but following the situation via Twitter, Al-Jazeera and some friends who are there.

UPDATE: Here is a report from Al-Masry Al-Youm. Abbassiya square is totally closed off now.

UPDATE: Here is a video:

[TwitVid removed]

UPDATE: Three Central Security Forces trucks appeared in the Square, but were stoned by protesters. The police escaped, heading to Wayli district. The army is still blocking the march, as protesters continue chanting against SCAF. The plans for tomorrow’s march are still in effect.

UPDATE: SCAF issued a statement denying that the military police cracked down on protests anywhere and accused 6th of April Youth Movement of inciting the public against the army. Of course it’s a load of horseshit and this is the kind stupid moves by the army that also inflates the size and influence of some opposition groups like the 6th of April. The army needs some “enemy” to lay the blame on for the protests. I watched Al-Jazeera Misr Mubasher, and the official spokesperson of 6th of April, Muhammad Adel, denied the involvement of the group in the current march and more vehemently denied that the movement ever chanted against SCAF since the start of the July 8 sit-in. Shame on SCAF and shame on the 6th of April all together.

UPDATE: Here is a video of the army in Alexandria firing in the air to disperse protesters tonight. Similar anti-SCAF protests are taking place in several other provinces:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aROn8N0mMXg

UPDATE: The coward politicians and most of activist groups are trying their best to distance themselves from the march on SCAF. A disgrace by all means. They are all showing up on TV accusing the protesters of being part of the “remnants of the old regime, with foreign agendas” bla bla bla.. Anyways, fuck them. Here is a statement from the Revolutionary Socialists in support of the march, calling for the overthrowing of SCAF.

UPDATE: More videos of the Cairo march:

[Video removed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZe2gKYtSm8]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05crani4ZSw

UPDATE: Here is another video from Alexandria, where the army cracked down on anti-SCAF protesters:

Video footage I took with my mobile phone: The march which started in Nasr City, on the Friday of Anger, now reached Abbassiya, where Central Security Forces, in complete demoralization, allowed us passage few minutes later, without resistance.