The Egyptian military’s ouster of President Mohammed Morsi has placed Egypt’s ultraconservative Islamists Salafis in a position of distinct power.
The Times of Israel described the reaction among Salafis to the coup in Egypt as one of jumping on the “revolutionary bandwagon,” with the Salafi al-Watan party, fearing political marginalization, calling for national unity following the coup.
And even as Egyptian security forces rounded up Muslim Brotherhood leaders, the new interim president called for Islamists to participate in building the new Egypt, in a statement that could serve as an invitation to the Salafis to play a more prominent role.