- The Washington Times - Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi aren’t showing any signs of ceding the battle to reinstate him as leader, with thousands filling the streets of Egypt on Tuesday, pledging to fight until death.

One Muslim Brotherhood backer captured on NBC video even said he would sacrifice his two-year-old daughter, whose name translates into English as “Smile,” for the cause.

“[I would sacrifice] even our families for the cause,” he said, on the video. “I would be sad for missing my child,” but would give her up for the cause.

Many of Mr. Morsi’s backers believe similarly in their fight, it seems.

“We don’t care about death,” said housewife Aza Galal, pitching camp with her 6-year-old son outside Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque to support Mr. Morsi, The Guardian reported.

“We believe in one thing. When your time to die comes, you will die. So will you die as a courageous martyr, or as a coward? That’s the point. We want to die as martyrs.”

Tens of thousands of Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters of Mr. Morsi have filled the streets of Egypt’s capital, camping in two select spots near the city university and across town, at Rabaa.

Mr. Morsi was thrown out of office by the military on July 3. Police on Tuesday had been planning to flood the two camp sites and scatter the protesters, but changed their minds at the last minute, fearing a “massacre,” The Associated Press reported.

• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.

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