Syria's opposition plans to hold a demonstration on the weekend in support of the Egyptian people and to protest poverty, oppression and government corruption in Syria, websites belonging to the opposition reported Tuesday.
The democratic Islamic movement in Syria is organizing "massive gathering" that would take place outside parliament in Damascus on Saturday, according to to the Nidaasyria website, DPA reported.
The website Sooryoon stated that a similar demonstration is expected to take place in the central city of Homs.
Religious Endowments Minister Abd Al-Satar Al-Sayyed has ordered clerics to reject any attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Syria, to recruit members, the website said.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the rule from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000, has promised to push for political reform.
In an interview published Monday, Al-Assad told The Wall Street Journal that the protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen are ushering in a "new era" in the Middle East.
Arab rulers would need to do more to meet the political and economic expectations of their people, he said.
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