Islamist president's backers push Egypt to tipping point

[NewsCaster]

Ahmad Hammad / APA demonstrator chants slogans as several thousand supporters of  President Mohammed Morsi surround the Supreme Constitutional Court on Sunday.By Jim Maceda, NBC NewsNews analysis

CAIRO - There’s usually a lot of movement around Cairo’s highest court, and Monday was no exception. But acutely missing were the judges and lawyers themselves -- they’re on strike, protesting against the hundreds of Islamist demonstrators occupying the court’s grounds since Saturday night.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld The judges -- seen by Islamists as holdovers from the regime of ousted President Hosni Mubarak -- have said they feel too intimidated to come and do their work, which would have included ruling on the legality of a 234-article draft constitution the opposition maintains is flawed, incomplete and above all else, leans too far toward Islamic law.

NBCNews