Morsi's Facebook sparks Egyptian fury

A controversial message posted on Mohamed Morsi's official Facebook page has sparked a wave of protests among Egypt's social media users.

Morsi, the former president ousted in 2013, is currently incarcarated - but in a letter believed to have been smuggled out of prison and posted on the Facebook page, the Muslim Brotherhood leader called on opponents of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take to the streets and "continue the revolution".

Many of his critics took the former president's plea as an incitement to violence - especially coming at a sensitive moment, as the nation mourned the loss of 33 Egyptian soldiers in an attack on an army checkpoint in northern Sinai.

Many Egyptians said the message was distasteful and lacked political intelligence, while Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat has ordered an investigation into Morsi's message as a possible call for violence.

Timing

Nabil al-Halfawi, the famed Egyptian actor, criticised the timing of the message, tweeting: "Honestly, I'm stunned by the timing of this post on Morsi's page. Who is the genius who decided this? This timing exceeds expectations, or rather it exceeds the imagination."

Honestly, I'm stunned by the timing of this post on Morsi's page. Who is the genius who decided this? - Nabil al-Halfawi, actor

A number of Egyptian television hosts gave a harsh response to Morsi’s message on air, but Ahmad Abd al-Aziz, Morsi's media adviser, used Facebook to scold the critics, describing them as "a choir of rude and abusive presenters on the pro-coup satellite stations, who have lost their senses to the extent of using words befitting of their baseness while commenting on message of the Egyptian President, Morsi."

He also vowed revenge: "You will all kiss the ground under our feet asking for forgiveness that we will not forgive."

While many still saw the response as rambling, Morsi supporters were emboldened by the message. Azza al-Garf, one of Egypt's few female MPs, said on Facebook: "Strength, determination, faith - Morsi's supporters are everywhere, this is a real man speaking. Mohamed Morsi, president of the republic."

Her post has since been removed.

Analyst have compared Sisi's reaction to the Sinai attack to a similar attack near Rafah two years ago, when an armed group killed 16 soldiers on a military base during Morsi's presidency. 

"What if Morsi was in power and the same thing happened, would they have been satisfied with just promises? The issue of Sinai has been around since Mubarak and it needs a comprehensive solution not just a military solution," wrote Palestinian writer Yasser Zaatreh.

This article is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.