A look inside the crisis that has led to hundreds being killed.
What is the Tamarod movement?
Tamarod, which means "rebel," is a coalition of Egyptians that includes liberals, secularists and union organizers whooppose the presidency of Mohammed Morsi. The movement collected more than 22 million signatures on a petition calling for Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate, to step down after Morsi pushed through a new constitution that opened the door for increased enforcement of Muslim religious law. Tamarod organized mass protests in June that brought millions of people to the streets. Tamarod charges Morsi ignored the democratic process and wrecked Egypt's economy. Salafist Islamists who feel Morsi did not push hard enough for Islamic law also joined the Tamarod movement.
Why was Morsi ousted?
Critics accused Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, of turning into a dictator and subverting their hard-won democracy to suit the religious beliefs of his Muslim Brotherhood party. They say he failed to provide for their safety, turned Egypt into a beggar state economically and failed to prosecute abuses by security forces against anti-government protesters who brought down dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011. In 2012 he assembled a committee to write Egypt's new constitution that was dominated by the Brotherhood members who refused to make concessions to women and secularists. In November he assumed vast new powers placing himself above the review of the nation's highest court. He did nothing to stop violence of the Muslim Brotherhood against opponents, Tamarod members say. With the nation paralyzed by protests, unemployment rampant and foreign investment and tourism drying up, the military ousted Morsi it said to "restore democracy."
Why is the USA not calling the ouster a coup?
U.S. law requires the United States to suspend foreign aid to governments that are taken over by their country's militaries. The United States provides Egypt with $1.5 billion a year but the U.S. State Department said Egypt is trying to return to democracy and the military was acting on the will of the people.
What was the interim government trying to do to reconcile opponents and move forward?
Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour, who was installed by Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, called for ousted president Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders to accept the ouster and return to the political scene to prepare for new elections. But Morsi and his followers refused to participate unless the party was restored to power. The government held meetings with European Union representative Katherine Ashton and U.S. Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns met with Egyptian government and Brotherhood officials in a failed attempt to mediate a resolution.
What does Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood believe in?
The Muslim Brotherhood is a political movement of fundamentalist Sunni Muslims who believe that Egypt's laws should adhere to and be guided by Islamic law. They say they believe in democracy, and that a religious basis for government is natural in a country that is predominantly Muslim. In 2007, the group called for Egypt's government to be overseen by a group of unelected religious scholars. Brotherhood members have said they back punishment for adulterers, gays and Muslim women who don't adhere to Islamic requirements on modesty. They say the country should be educated in the proper observance and understanding of Islam so that the religion's requirements can be implemented democratically.
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