As Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi said he took the power of the courts to impose stability, protesters argued he is becoming a dictator. NBC's Jim Maceda reports. By NBC News staffResponding to violent protests over the last four days, Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi insisted that he assumed control of the judiciary to stabilize the country – not to concentrate power.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (http://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) Protesters say that Morsi, who became the country’s first democratically-elected president on June 30, issued a decree of near-total executive power to elevate himself to Pharaoh-like status. They also worry that Morsi and his supporters will draft a constitution that will put Egypt on track to becoming like religiously conservative Iran or Turkey.
Morsi’s supporters say his control of the courts is temporary – a necessary move, they say, because the courts are governed by former President Hosni Mubarak appointees who have blocked the country's transition to democracy.
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