Morsi supporters protest in New York

NEW YORK – Egyptians demonstrated in the heart of New York City in the late afternoon Friday, to pressure the US government to clarify whether it considered the Egyptian military's removal of President Mohamed Morsi from power a coup.

The demonstrators interviewed emphasized that they had not come out to support Morsi, the ousted president who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood, but rather to oppose the military's decision to depose him, which they described as anti-democratic.

The protest represents a parcel of the Egyptian diaspora in America, which is partially conservative and known for its support of the Brotherhood government.

Anis, an architect in the process of attaining American citizenship, led the protesters in chanting, "Morsi was elected, army is rejected" and "It's a coup, it's a coup. Don't let them lie to you."

"Everyone here believes that Morsi committed some mistakes, but definitely we know that he is not a dictator, he is not a corrupt person, he is not someone shutting down freedom or arresting people for no reason," he says.

While Anis identified himself as a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, he insisted that 90 percent of the protesters present were not, and that mosque leaders, not the Brotherhood, had organized the protest. "We came here to support democracy in Egypt, not to support the president himself," he says.

The Egyptian military has held Morsi under house arrest in an undisclosed facility since forcing him from office on 3 July. He and his supporters have denounced the act as a military coup, and protests both in support of and against the decision to remove him have raged in the ensuing weeks. The New York demonstration coincided with the pro-Morsi "Friday of Determination" protests held the same day in Egypt.

Demonstrators claimed the southwest corner of West 58th Street and 8th Avenue in the borough of Manhattan, next to the Columbus Circle roundabout and directly in front of the headquarters of CNN, the major American cable news network that frequently reports on events in Egypt. While different from a typical Cairo protest — demonstrators largely kept to the sidewalk, allowing traffic to flow through, and numbered around 50 — the waving of large Egyptian flags and loud, enthusiastic chants distinguished it as unmistakably Egyptian.

“Let's give it up for Egypt!” screamed one enthusiastic demonstrator into his megaphone. “Say yeah!”

Consistent among the demonstrators was the demand for the American government to determine whether the military's forced removal of Morsi constituted a coup. While the Obama administration has expressed concern over the military's decision and the subsequent street violence, they have not labeled it a "coup." Doing so would legally require the US government to suspend its financial aid to the Egyptian military.

Iman Ali, a doctor of physical therapy, held a sign reading, "We need democracy in Egypt." She had come to the protest because the US government's position on the military's removal of Morsi is "not clear for us."

"I just need them to clarify their position and to be fair, as they hold their democracy here. We are trying to be a democratic country, and why do you [the US government] just support the military? That's a big question for us."

She does not believe, however, that most Americans are ignorant of the political situation in Egypt.

"My colleagues, they talk about it, they say, 'It's not acceptable'."

Anis expressed a similar sentiment about the American government's position.

"We are really surprised and frustrated from the position that the Obama administration is still taking, trying to hide and close their eyes to a coup, a very nasty coup."

About two-thirds of the protesters were men; men and women stood separately and children were interspersed throughout. Some protesters held signs in English printed in large block letters, among them "No more military rule," "Anti coup," "Stop military coup in Egypt," and "Thank you CNN." One sign read: "We support President Morsi/Plan for rebuild and renew the system."

Hesham Wanes, an Egyptian-American engineer and businessman, said he had "nothing to do with the Brotherhood." He said the military's recent maneuvers were anti-democratic, and wanted to see democracy restored through fair elections, freedom of speech and government transparency.

Wanes implored the American government to step in before Egypt's political crisis worsened.

"If Egypt is not going to be a stable [country] in the Middle East," he warned, "forget it, all the Middle East is going to be a disaster."