ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />STORY: Thousands rallied on Sunday in support of President Mohamed Mursi, and a recent decree which has given him extensive powers.<br/> <br />The decree, which was issued on Thursday, will shield Mursi's decisions from judicial oversight until a parliament is elected, expected sometime next year.<br/> <br />It has also shielded the upper house of parliament and a constitution-drafting body which has seen a wave of criticism from liberals, leftists and seculars for its Islamist domination.<br/> <br />In El-Arish city in Sinai, thousands gathered at a local mosque, holding banners with pro-Mursi slogans.<br/> <br />Facing a storm of protest from judges and political opponents, who accuse Mursi of turning into a new dictator, the presidency said the decree was "not meant to concentrate powers", but to devolve them.<br/> <br />It aimed to avoid the politicization of the judiciary, a presidential statement said.<br/> <br />The presidency also said it was committed to engaging "all political forces" to reach common ground on the constitution and stressed the "temporary nature" of the decree.<br/> <br />In Alexandria, thousands more rallied to express their readiness to back their president and one demanded Mursi takes measures to purge Egyptian media from corruption.<br/> <br />More than 500 people in Cairo were injured in clashes between police and protesters worried that Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood aims to dominate the post-Hosni Mubarak era after winning Egypt's first democratic parliamentary and presidential elections this year.
