As Egypt’s liberal opposition and the Muslim Brotherhood prepare for a potentially dramatic confrontation this weekend, one major group has been standing on the sidelines, biding its time as it learns the game of politics as well as the inner workings of government.

Security forces detained an Egyptian Shi'ite activist for possessing of illegal weapons two days after Shi'ites were killed in an attack by Sunni Muslims in a town near Cairo, a prosecution source said on Wednesday.

As Egyptians of all factions prepare to demonstrate in mass against the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi’s rule on June 30, the latter has been trying to reduce their numbers, which some predict will be in the millions and eclipse the Tahrir protests that earlier ousted Mubarak. Among other influential Egyptians, Morsi recently called on Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II to urge his flock, Egypt’s millions of Christians, not to join the June 30 protests.

A Muslim Brotherhood sermon against participating in upcoming anti-government protests led to an altercation outside a mosque in a town in Sharqiya on Tuesday night. Over 16 people were injured according to an FJP media officer.

Iran's foreign ministry condemned the killing of four Shi'ite Egyptians near Cairo, saying such extremism violated the tenets of Islam, state television reported late on Monday.

Egypt's Salafist Nour Party will neither participate in 28 June pro-government protests by Islamist forces or 30 June anti-government protests by opposition forces, party leader Younis Makhioun announced Tuesday.

The Muslim Brotherhood asked Egypt's former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman to nominate himself for presidency in 2011, Hussein Kamal, former head of Sulieman's office, said on Tuesday.

Islamist groups have revealed plans to form vigilante justice groups ahead of 30 June demonstrations. The groups will be formed with the aim of protecting state facilities and countering potential violence as Islamist supporters and largely secular opponents of President Mohamed Morsy prepare to take to the streets at the end of the month.

The Egyptian president’s office released a statement on Monday denouncing the killing of four Shia Muslims in a Giza village on Sunday, saying that "the state will not be lenient with anyone who tampers with Egypt's security or the unity of its people."

''The entire responsibility [for the country] still lies in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood,'' ultra-conservative Salafist figure Hazem Abu-Ismail said on Monday regarding recent statements by Egyptian Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

Islamist groups in Egypt, including the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and hardliners Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, announced on Monday that they will hold a demonstration in support of “legitimacy” on 28 June, in response to mass anti-government protests planned for the same day.

The group Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination denounced on Monday the murder of four Shia Muslims and the injuring of eight other Shias in mob attacks in the village of Zawyat Abu Musalam in Giza.

Egypt's Salafist Nour Party "completely agrees" with recent statements by Defence Minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi regarding Egypt's charged domestic political scene, Nour Party Secretary-General Galal Mora said Monday.

An Egyptian court said on Sunday that Hizbullah and Hamas helped prisoners, including current President Mohammed Morsi, escape during the 2011 uprising.

A man was shot dead in overnight clashes north of Cairo between supporters and opponents of Egypt's Islamist government, security sources said, raising tensions ahead of big opposition rallies planned next Sunday.

Egypt's highest Islamic authority Al-Azhar denounced statements made by Islamist preacher and Muslim Brotherhood supporter Safwat Hegazy “insulting' Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb during the mass demonstration staged in Cairo on Friday by 17 Islamist parties in support of President Morsi.

The head of the Strong Egypt Party Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh said on Sunday that he is "honoured" that the Muslim Brotherhood chanted against him at their rally in support of President Mohamed Morsi on Friday.

Women here say it crosses class barriers, generations and faiths. It prevails in public buses, trains, streets and homes. It exists online, on university campuses, and in parks, markets, at work and in cafes.

Hundreds of protestors in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Luxor have continued their demonstration in front of the governorate headquarters for a fourth consecutive day.

Clashes erupted on Wednesday night outside a Muslim Brotherhood conference in Desouk city in Kafr El-Sheikh governorate.

Thousands of Egypt’s Coptic Christians are fleeing to Europe, the United States and elsewhere rather than face mounting discrimination at home. Copts, Egypt’s ancient Christian community, are the country’s largest minority, making up nearly 10 percent of its 85 million people.