CAIRO: More than 200,000 people packed Cairo’s Tahrir Square Tuesday, chanting against Egypt’s Islamist president in a powerful show of strength by the opposition demanding Mohammad Mursi revoke edicts granting himself near autocratic powers.
 
With the mass protests in Tahrir and in several other cities – comparable in size to those during last year’s uprising that overthrew autocrat Hosni Mubarak – opposition to the decrees issued last week turned into a broader outpouring of anger against the rule of Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
 
Waving Egypt’s red, white and black flags, crowds of protesters marched across Cairo to stream into the iconic central plaza, birthplace of the anti-Mubarak uprising. By the evening, it was thronging with a crowd that appeared to be more than 200,000.
 
Clashes broke out in several cities as Mursi opponents tried to attacked offices of the Brotherhood, setting fire to at least one.
 
Ringing out at Tahrir was the central chant of the Arab Spring revolts: “The people want to bring down the regime,” and “erhal, erhal,” Arabic for “leave, leave.”
 
“Suddenly Mursi is issuing laws and becoming the absolute ruler, holding all powers in his hands,” said protester Mona Sadek, a 31-year-old engineering graduate. “Our revolt against the decrees became a protest against the Brotherhood as well.”
 
But Gehad al-Haddad, a senior adviser to the Brotherhood and its political party, said the opposition was “very divided” and that Mursi would not back down.
 
“We are not rescinding the declaration,” he told the Associated Press.
 
Mursi’s edicts effectively neutralize the judiciary, which was the only branch of government in a position to balance Mursi, who holds not only executive but also legislative authority.
 
The staunch stand taken by Mursi and the Brotherhood sets the stage for a drawn-out battle with the opposition that could paralyze the nation at a time when its economic woes are deepening, security continues to be tenuous and strikes by an entire spectrum of white and blue collar workers show no sign of abating.
 
Protest organizers on a stage in the square called for another mass rally Friday. If the Brotherhood responds with rallies of its own, as some of its leaders have hinted, it would raise the prospect of greater violence after a series of clashes between the two camps in recent days.
 
Even as the crowds swelled in Tahrir, clashes erupted nearby between several hundred young protesters throwing stones and police firing tear gas on a street off Tahrir leading to the U.S. Embassy. Clouds of tear gas hung close to the ground in the area.
 
A 52-year-old protester died after inhaling tear gas, the second death in Cairo since Mursi issued the decree.
 
In the Nile Delta industrial city of Mahalla al-Kobra, workers and activists tried to storm the headquarters of the Brotherhood’s political party, but were blocked by Brotherhood members who formed a human chain around the building. The two sides clashed, pelting each other with stones and fire bombs as police fired tear gas, in violence that security officials said left 100 injured.
 
Rival rallies by Mursi opponents and supporters turned into brief clashes in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, then anti-Mursi protesters broke into the local office of the Muslim Brotherhood, throwing furniture out the windows and trying unsuccessfully to set fire to it. Protesters also set fire to Brotherhood offices in the city of Mansoura.
 
The edicts have energized the liberal and secular opposition after months of divisions and uncertainty while Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups rose to dominate the political landscape.
 
But the backlash has been further fueled by broader anger over what critics see as the Brotherhood’s monopolizing of power after its election victories the past year for parliament and the presidency.
 
Raafat Magdi, an engineer, said: “We want to change this whole setting. The Brotherhood hijacked the revolution.”
 
Mursi says the decrees are necessary to protect the “revolution” and the nation’s transition to democratic rule.
 
His declaration made all his decisions immune to judicial review and banned the courts from dissolving the upper house of parliament and an assembly writing the new constitution, both of which are dominated by Islamists. The decree also gave Mursi sweeping authority to stop any “threats” to the revolution, public order or state institutions. The powers would last until the constitution is approved and parliamentary elections are held, not likely before spring 2013.The decrees, said the Brotherhood spokesman Haddad, “cemented the way forward” by protecting the assembly and upper house.
 
In a series of tweets, the Brotherhood dismissed the rallies, saying even while the square was packed that the turnout was “low” and showed a lack of support for the opposition.
 
Mursi’s supporters canceled a massive rally they had planned for Tuesday in Cairo, citing the need to “defuse tension” after a series of clashes between the two camps since the decrees were issued Thursday.
 
The opposition says the decrees give Mursi near dictatorial powers by neutralizing the judiciary at a time when he already holds executive and legislative powers. Leading judges have also denounced the measures.
 
But many who joined Tuesday’s protests lashed out more broadly against the rule of Mursi, who came to office in June as Egypt’s first freely elected president. For months, criticism has been growing that the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists are monopolizing power in the government and trying to dictate the next constitution while not doing enough to tackle the country’s multiple economic and security woes.
 
Reda Hasan, owner of a car parts shop, said he voted for Mursi in this past summer’s election, but “he fooled us. He did nothing since he was elected ... Now Tahrir says go away.”
 
A fellow protester, Saad Salem Nada, said, “I am a Muslim and he made me hate Muslims because of the dictatorship in the name of religion. In the past, we had one Mubarak, now we have hundreds,” referring to the Brotherhood.
 
Washington said it was closely following the drama unfolding in Egypt and seeking clarity, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
 
The situation was evolving, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, appearing to downplay fears that Mursi was morphing into an autocrat.
 
“The situation remains unclear,” the spokeswoman told journalists, adding: “We are continuing to consult with various parties to understand how they appreciate the situation.”
 
Washington wanted however to see an end to “the constitutional impasse ... which protects a positive, democratic trajectory for this constitution, protects balances of power, protects a voice for all Egyptians.”