Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Photo: Wilson Dias/ABr via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – While protests have erupted across Egypt, the country’s secular and Christian opposition factions are calling for Islamist President Mohamed Morsi’s resignation as well as accusing the U.S. government of supporting Morsi’s Islamist government at their expense, Al-Ahram reported.

The protests began in Alexandria on Friday afternoon and then spread to other cities around Egypt. Several of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Freedom and Justice Party’s headquarters were torched by protestors, the Egypt Independent reported.

Cairo’s International Airport was flooded with an unprecedented amount of departures, the Associated Pressreported. According to anonymous Egyptian officials, many of those leaving are families of government officials, foreign diplomats and Egyptian Christians.

Islamist supporters of Morsi also held counter-protests in Cairo. Larger protests as part of an anti-Morsi petition movement organized by the activist group Tamarod are also scheduled on Sunday, igniting fears of an Islamist backlash against anti-Morsi protestors.

Comments made earlier this month by U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson sparked an atypical anti-American reaction from Egypt’s secular and Christian opposition factions.

“Some say that street action will produce better results than elections,” Patterson said, according to the Wall Street Journal. “To be honest, my government and I are deeply skeptical. More violence on the streets will do little more than add new names to the lists of martyrs. Instead, I recommend Egyptians get organized.”

“She is an evil lady who is creating divisions. How is this any of her business?” George Ishaq, a prominent Egyptian Christian activist, said of Patterson on a popular talk show following her comments.