Islam in Egypt

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood called for a 'day of anger' Thursday to mark the first anniversary of the military overthrow of president Mohamed Morsi, which unleashed a violent crackdown that all but crushed the Islamists.
      
Police closed off several main squares in Cairo and beefed up security ahead of the anticipated protests.
      

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi landed in Islamist neighbour Sudan on Friday for a lightning visit, which an analyst said would attempt to shore up a regional alliance against Islamic "terrorism".

An AFP photographer at Khartoum airport confirmed the Egyptian leader’s plane had touched down and said Sisi, wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, left about two hours later.

Newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday he would not interfere with judicial verdicts, following an international outcry over lengthy prison sentences given to three Al Jazeera journalists a day earlier.
   

Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Egypt Sunday on a surprise trip, becoming the highest-ranking US official to visit since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power.
      

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in as president on June 8 following a landslide election almost a year after he deposed Egypt's first freely elected leader and crushed his Islamist supporters.

The retired field marshal took the oath of office at the heavily guarded Constitutional Court and then left to attend a reception with foreign dignitaries.

Egyptian prosecutors on Thursday demanded the "maximum" penalty, ranging from 15 to 25 years in jail, for all 20 defendants in the trial of Al-Jazeera journalists accused of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood.
      

Former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was declared Egypt's president-elect June 3, winning 96.9 percent of the vote in an election nearly a year after he toppled president Mohamed Morsi, whose Islamist allies boycotted the polls.

Egyptians vote on the final day of the presidential elections on Tuesday, with former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi favored to win.

Amid fears of low voter turnout, the government declared the day a national holiday. As of Monday noon, 12% of eligible voters had cast their ballots, Al-Jazeera reported.

A total of 683 people, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, were sentenced to death at a mass trial in Egypt.

Charges against them were over an raid on a police station in August last year which took the life on one policeman, according to the BBC.

Only 70 were in custody, while the others were tried in absentia.

Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has resigned as Egypt's military chief, as he intends to run for presidency.

Sisi appeared on state TV, saying that he was wearing a military uniform for the last time, the BBC reported.