Capetonians and members of the Egyptian ex-pat community will hold a rally at Darul Islam masjid in Surrey Estate on Friday to mark two years since the Egyptian coup of 2013. July 3 marks the day that Egypt’s military chief Abdel Fatah El Sisi removed democratically elected president Muhammad Morsi from power and suspended the Egyptian constitution. The military arrested Morsi and Muslim Brotherhood leaders and banned the movement.

The rally, organised by the Egyptian Community of South Africa (ECOSA) together with Muslim Youth United (MYU), aims to inform the youth of SA about the tragic events that took place in Egypt on the 3rd July 2013.

There have been many youth that have suffered emotional and physical trauma during the political upheaval in the country over the past two years. They have been left to fend for themselves as most of their parents have been killed, seriously injured or imprisoned by the military government. The pro-Morsi youth have not been allowed to enter into universities or schools and are constantly being monitored by the Egyptian military.

Friday’s event starts at Jumuah with the khutbah to be delivered by Ambassador Ebrahim Rassool. The ambassador will discuss the current situation in Egypt and its impact on Palestine. After the khutbah, there will be a rally in the streets of Surrey Estate, on the corner of Pluto and Gonubie road, which will be broadcasted live on Al Jazeera Arabic.

Later the evening there will be a qira’a by Haafith Shukri Frydie and nasheed by Khudaamul-Islaam. This will be followed by a screening of a documentary on the Rabaa massacre and Qiyam al-Layl salah which will be led by Shaykh Ismael Londt and Shaykh Mohammad Philander.

The event is supported by few organisations such Youth for Al Aqsa, the Muslim Judicial Council and a group called Rabaa. Event coordinator Adil Abdullah urged the Muslim community to stand in solidarity with the Egyptian people.

“Since Capetonians are very passionate about Palestine, it’s important that we all understand how the Egyptian situation impacts on Palestinians and the current siege on Gaza. Egypt’s military regime is working side to side with Israeli government and this is affecting the daily life of Palestinians and Egyptians. We urge everyone to show support for this just cause, so we can see freedom for Palestinians and Egyptians.” VOC (Amina Waggie)