A soldier sets up barbed wire in anticipation of protesters outside the constitutional court in Cairo on Sunday, August 18. The protesters never showed up. Over the past week, about 900 people -- security forces as well as citizens -- have been killed. Deaths occurred when the military used force to clear supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsy from two sit-in sites in Cairo on Wednesday, and violence raged after Morsy supporters staged demonstrations Friday. Look back at Egypt's unrest.
Editor's note: Ed Husain is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. The author of "The Islamist" can be followed on Twitter via @Ed_Husain. This commentary has been updated from an earlier version.
(CNN) -- Egypt is aflame again. After seven weeks of warning of an imminent clampdown against sit-ins in support of deposed President Mohammed Morsy, the unelected and military-backed government is besieging civilian crowds to allegedly "restore democracy." Emotions are running high on both sides. Dialogue and negotiations are seen as weaknesses. Military might and forceful clearing of Egypt's public squares will not solve the country's deep political problems. The solution is with Morsy.
For the large numbers of Egyptians who protested in the heat while starving during the Ramadan month of fasting, Morsy remains the legitimate president of Egypt. And the violent and deadly clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo will continue and many more lives will be lost unless we recognize and address this basic grievance.
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The protesters are being led by the Muslim Brotherhood. They will not abandon mass street protests, their "comfort zone" as they have said. Thousands have been injured in the past two months and almost 200 people killed. Egypt's economy will continue to tank, and political instability will haunt this ancient land. So what to do?
The clue came from Morsy's son Osama Morsy when he was interviewed by CNN recently.
Osama has rallied his father's supporters through public speeches. He knows the mood at the Rabaa El-Adawiyah rally and elsewhere in Egypt. He confirmed the standard views of the Muslim Brotherhood and others who oppose the recent military coup. But then he hinted at something: "Dad, you are the legitimate leader; you are the elected leader and elected president. We back any decision you take, even if you decided to leave the office."
This might seem odd to outside observers and anti-Morsy Egyptians, but to the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's most-organized political force, Morsy is still the president of Egypt.
They still believe Morsy is in office, and unless he resigns, the protesters will not waver in their support for him. Security forces opening fire on the protesters or the military clearing the various public squares across Egypt only makes martyrs of the Muslim Brotherhood. The only way out of this impasse is for Morsy to resign from office to save Egypt from further instability and loss of life.
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If Morsy were to officially resign, the Brotherhood would no longer need to rally around an individual, one of their own, who has been humiliated and mistreated. Morsy's resignation also provides the Muslim Brotherhood with a face-saving exit from its entrenched position of "Morsy is to be reinstated" during their protests. If Morsy were willing to leave office, it would also illustrate to Egyptians his desire to prevent further loss of life, return Egypt to civility, end the country's national disunity and allow the Brotherhood to return to the political process through elections rather than disruptive protests.
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If the past five Egyptian elections are a guide, then the Muslim Brotherhood will most likely dominate future parliamentary contests.
By resigning, Morsy would strengthen the Muslim Brotherhood. Ending the emerging culture of street violence would help to discredit the military's claim that the Muslim Brotherhood is turning violent and therefore should be banned, a move that would spell disaster for Islamist political activists and fuel radicalism in the country.
In sum, the parallel universe in which the Muslim Brotherhood's leadership and supporters exist needs to be recognized. Catherine Ashton, foreign policy chief of the European Union, has sought to be of help to Egypt, but she has not offered much leadership or vision. Egyptians do not need more news conferences and hurrying through meetings to catch a flight (as Ashton did).
Cooler heads within the Muslim Brotherhood must prevail in persuading Morsy to resign. Ashton and others can be helpful in negotiating their access to Morsy.
Egyptian politics will not evolve from mass protests. Yes, Morsy deserved more time in office to rectify his errors. And yes, the coup was a tragic error. And yes, Egypt's political opposition is a shambles, the local media deeply biased, the judiciary corrupt and the military politicized.
The Muslim Brotherhood's task is not to uphold Morsy but to renew and reform Egypt's politics and economy by learning from Turkey's success. To do that, Morsy can help Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood move forward by submitting his official resignation urgently.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ed Husain.
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Friends and relatives of Ammar Badie, 38, killed Friday during clashes in Ramses Square, carry his coffin during his funeral in Al-Hamed mosque in Cairo on August 18. Ammar Badie was the son of the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, Mohammed Badie.
Wreckage and debris litter the area around the Al-Fateh mosque in Cairo, where hundreds of Islamist protesters had barricaded themselves on Saturday, August 17. Thousands defied an emergency order by taking to the streets the day before to mark a "Friday of anger" in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsy.
Riot police enter the community services hall of the Al-Fateh mosque, where Morsy supporters had holed up on August 17.
Policemen stand guard inside a room of Al-Fateh mosque as supporters of Morsy exchange gunfire with security forces inside the mosque in Cairo on Saturday, August 17.
Egyptians security forces escort a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood out of the Al-Fateh mosque and through an angry crowd in Ramses Square on August 17.
An army officer escorts an Islamist woman out of Cairo's Al-Fateh mosque on August 17.
A Morsy supporter prays on the floor of the Al-Fateh mosque in Ramses Square as injured protesters are treated nearby on Friday, August 16.
A wounded boy is treated in the Taamin Sehi field hospital during clashes on August 16.
A supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood runs past a burning vehicle near Cairo's Ramses Square during clashes with security officers on August 16.
Morsy supporters carry supplies while violent clashes continue to take place near Ramses Square on August 16.
An Egyptian man offers a bottle of juice to policemen as clashes between Morsy supporters and security forces continue in Cairo on August 16.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsy supporters flee shooting near Ramses Square in Cairo on August 16.
A Muslim Brotherhood member and Morsy supporter wears a gas mask made out of a plastic bottle during clashes in front of the Azbkya police station on August 16.
Morsy supporters march in Cairo. Gunfire was heard from the overpass as tear gas was fired.
Demonstrators hurt in the clashes at Ramses Square are taken away on August 16 in Cairo.
A military helicopter flies above demonstrators in Cairo on August 16.
A protester receives treatment at the Al-Fateh mosque in Cairo on August 16.
Bodies of protesters who died during clashes are laid out at the Al-Fateh mosque on August 16.
A group of men gather around an injured protester in Giza on August 16.
Demonstrators and Muslim Brotherhood supporters carry the body of a man apparently shot during clashes with security forces in Giza district on the outskirts of Cairo on August 16.
Morsy supporters demonstrate outside Al-Fateh mosque in Ramses Square in Cairo on August 16.
Protesters demonstrate near Ennour mosque in Cairo on August 16.
A flag-covered coffin of a man killed during Wednesday's clashes is carried at Amr Ibn Al-As mosque before a funeral in Cairo on August 16.
A protester wounded during clashes braces for help outside of a church on Mourad Street in Giza on August 16.
Egyptian soldiers take positions alongside armored vehicles as they guard the entrance to Tahrir Square in Cairo on Friday, August 16.
A Morsy supporter takes part in a protest near Ennour mosque in Cairo on August 16.
People reach for a coffin on Thursday, August 15, during a funeral for police officers killed during a crackdown at two protest camps in support of Morsy.
Egyptian police officers attend the funeral for their colleagues on August 15.
Men are detained near a burned section of Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 15.
People search through debris at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on August 15.
A man on August 15 checks out a list of names of those killed in the crackdown.
Egyptians mourn over a body wrapped in shrouds at a Cairo mosque August 15.
Morsy supporters carry a coffin into a mosque in Cairo's Nasr City on August 15.
A woman weeps after identifying the body of a relative on August 15 at a Cairo mosque.
A man walks inside the burned-out Rabaa Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 15.
Motorcyclists pass by debris, including Morsy posters, in Cairo's Nahda Square on August 15.
Supporters of Morsy shout during clashes with Egyptian police at the Rabaah Al-Adawiya protest camp in Cairo's Nasr City district on August 14.
A woman tries to stop a military bulldozer from hurting a wounded youth during clashes on August 14 in eastern Cairo.
Morsy supporters run as Egyptian security forces fire toward them on August 14.
An injured youth is seen at a makeshift hospital in Cairo on August 14.
Supporters of Morsy take cover from Egyptian security forces during clashes on August 14.
A Morsy supporter reacts after identifying the body of a dead family member at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Medical Center on August 14 in Cairo.
The national identity cards of protesters allegedly killed during a clear-out operation by Egyptian security forces on pro-Morsy demonstrators are exchanged at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Medical Center on August 14.
A Morsy supporter lies wounded on a stretcher at the Rabaa al-Adawiya Medical Center on August 14.
Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a protest in support of deposed President Morsy in Cairo on August 14.
Army bulldozers remove a barricade erected by supporters of Morsy during clashes with riot police at Cairo's Mustafa Mahmoud Square on August 14.
Supporters of Morsy push a police vehicle off the 6th of October Bridge in Cairo on August 14.
A member of the Egyptian security forces lies on the ground in Cairo on August 14 after a police vehicle was pushed off the 6th of October Bridge.
A man grieves at a makeshift morgue in Cairo on August 14.
Morsy supporters confront police at Cairo's Mustafa Mahmoud Square on August 14.
Morsy supporters carry a wounded man during clashes with riot police in Cairo on August 14.
A Morsy supporter during clashes with police in Cairo on August 14.
Riot police stand behind a wounded man near Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 14.
Supporters of Morsy and members of the Muslim Brotherhood run from tear gas as security forces move in at the site of a pro-Morsy sit-in in Cairo on August 14.
A Morsy supporter sits under arrest at Cairo's Nahda Square on August 14.
Egyptians help a woman suffering from tear gas exposure in a street leading to Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 14.
Egyptian security forces detain protesters in Cairo's Nasr City district on August 14.
The scene from a street in Cairo's Nasr City appears chaotic as security forces clear a sit-in August 14.
A woman tries to protect herself from tear gas in Cairo on August 14.
Muslim Brotherhood supporters run from tear gas in a street leading to Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo on August 14.
Protesters gather in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya Square on Monday, August 12.
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