Egypt’s prosecutor ordered the arrest of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leader on Thursday, widening a crackdown against the Islamist movement after the army ousted the country’s first democratically elected president.
However, Egypt’s new interim leader, Adli Mansour, used his inauguration to hold out an olive branch to the Brotherhood.
“The Muslim Brotherhood are part of this people and are invited to participate in building the nation as nobody will be excluded, and if they respond to the invitation, they will be welcomed,” he said.
Calm returned to Cairo on Thursday after huge crowds which had filled Tahrir Square, danced in the streets and held Egyptian flags aloft overnight to celebrate President Mohamed Morsi’s downfall after days of mass protests.
Morsi’s dramatic removal after a year in office marked another twist in the turmoil that had gripped the Arab world’s most populous country in the two years since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.
The UN, the U.S. and other world powers did not condemn Morsi’s removal as a military coup. To do so might trigger sanctions.
Army intervention was backed by millions of Egyptians, including liberal leaders and religious figures who expect new elections under a revised set of rules.
