Enlarge Image Close Associated Press An Egyptian protester is treated for wounds sustained during clashes with security force in Tahrir Square in Cairo. 
 
 CAIRO—Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and his Islamist allies completed a new constitution with references to Shariah, or Islamic law, setting the stage for a new showdown with secularists, liberals and the country's judiciary. 
 
 Drafters voted on the constitution's 234 articles, one by one, in a marathon session that started Thursday and lasted more than 16 hours until dawn Friday, with the head of the Islamist-dominated constitutional assembly racing to complete the document before a Supreme Court verdict on Sunday that could dissolve the assembly. 
 
 In a controversial move, an additional article was added Friday at the last minute calling for a change in the makeup and membership of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the body challenging the assembly. 
 
 The charter that took shape, Egyptian legal experts said, was almost identical to the 1971 constitution written by former President Anwar Sadat, which underpinned a presidential-led autocracy for four decades. 
 
 But unlike Mr. Sadat's version, the new constitution incorporates mentions of Islamic law that could elevate the role of Islam in Egypt's public life and government. 
 
 In one clause worrying for Egypt's liberals, the draft assigns the state with the responsibility to "ensure public morality," a clause that critics said is open to manipulation by Islamists. 
 
 State TV broke away from a live broadcast of the proceedings to air an interview with Mr. Morsi, who said he would next put the constitution up for public approval through a national referendum scheduled for mid-December, even if the judiciary opposes it, because a decree he issued last week entitles him to do so. 
 
 "I will stop those who want to turn back the clock no matter the cost," he said. 
 
 Mr. Morsi cast the decree, which claimed more powers for the president and his Islamist allies, as a temporary fix to expedite a tumultuous democratic transition. 
 
 Thousands of youth activists and members of secular and liberal parties camped this week in Cairo's central Tahrir Square, the focal point of the popular uprising that toppled the previous regime nearly two years ago, to demand that Mr. Morsi rescind the edict. 
 
 Activists planned a mass protest on Friday in Tahrir to press their demands. 
 
 A counterprotest on Saturday is set for another venue in Cairo, in what Islamists said was an attempt to avoid violence. At least four people have been killed and hundreds wounded in violence across the country over the past 10 days. 
 
 If the Supreme Constitutional Court follows those protests on Sunday by declaring the constitutional assembly to be unconstitutional—as the court did with the Islamist-dominated parliament earlier this year—Islamists are likely to cast the decision as an attack on the president, escalating unrest. 
 
 Mr. Morsi has said it was necessary to insulate the judiciary from the current political fight because it is stacked with judges appointed under the regime of his predecessor as president, Hosni Mubarak. The new constitution contains language that could further help Mr. Morsi bring the judges to heel. 
 
 The vote Friday was a move by Mr. Morsi and the Constituent Assembly, which drafted the new constitution, to outflank the judiciary, said Nathan Brown, an expert on the Egyptian legal system and a professor of political science at George Washington University. 
 
 "They're ripping the gavel out of their hands and pounding them over the head," he said. 
 
 Enlarge Image Close Reuters Youths climb a wall Thursday that was built by police to prevent clashes between protesters and police at Tahrir Square in Cairo. 
 
 Now the same Egyptian judges who have spent the past week in open revolt against Mr. Morsi and his Islamist allies could be put in charge of monitoring a national referendum on the constitution, and implementing it if it passes. 
 
 More than one quarter of the original 100 members of the Constituent Assembly had either resigned or boycotted Thursday's session to protest what they said was bullying by the body's Islamist majority. 
 
 Many of those who quit the Assembly also objected to several articles that could elevate the powers of the president, reshape of the judiciary and allow military tribunals to try civilians, among other issues. 
 
 Secular, liberal and Christian groups had called for the dissolution of Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly, and the Supreme Constitutional Court was scheduled to take up the matter within days. 
 
 Critics accused Mr. Morsi of trying to force a hasty end to the constitution-drafting process amid deep polarization in the country. 
 
 "The constitution won't survive because the legitimacy of the constitution has to be in our national consciousness first," Mohamed ElBaradei, a former presidential candidate who is now part of a new national front opposed to Mr. Morsi, told local TV channel al-Nahar. "It's a miserable constitution, I am sad especially because it's coming out in circumstances of total division in Egypt," he said. 
 
 Members of the National Salvation Front formed last week by Mr. Baradei and several political figures and parties to oppose Mr. Morsi's decree came out Thursday to demand a complete overhaul of the constitution-drafting process, casting doubt over whether the final product could gain national acceptance. 
 
 Mr. Morsi called the deep division provoked by his decree "very healthy and positive" in the interview broadcast on Thursday. 
 
 "We aren't used to this and must be happy when we put it into practice: The opponent says his opinion and the supporter says his opinion and the decision maker [the president] bears his responsibility," he said. 
 
 Meanwhile, Hossam El-Gheriany, the chairman of the Constituent Assembly, which drafted the constitution, pressed the panel to move through the voting held at the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament. 
 
 "We really need this," said Mr. Gheriany, who at times used humor, cajoling, hectoring and banging on his desk to keep the chaotic proceedings on track. "God's hand is with the majority." 
 
 The first order of business for Mr. Gheriany was to replace 11 of the 26 absent members to achieve a quorum of 85. 
 
 He brushed off a member of the panel who warned him of the dangers of rushing the constitution through given the absence of those representing the church, secularists and other segments of the population. "The constitution must come out in a manner that makes the entire nation rally around it," said the objecting member, Mohammed Mohiye. 
 
 Some critics complained that repeated references to Shariah law in the draft offered wide leeway of interpretation by judges and security forces. 
 
 An attempt to define Shariah in Article 219 of the draft may raise more questions than answers, said critics. 
 
 "The main concern for me and Copts at large is trying to smuggle Islamic Shariah into articles of the constitution," said Yusuf Sidhum, editor of Al Watan, a Coptic Christian newspaper. 
 
 According to the draft, the military would still be allowed to try civilians before military courts—though many Islamists in the assembly had languished in jail for years following truncated military trials. 
 
 In another potentially problematic clause added on Wednesday, the constitution limits the political role of former regime figures without articulating their exact identities. 
 
 Attempts to qualify this clause provoked the most heated and prolonged exchanges toward the end of the assembly's meeting, with the chairman Mr. Gheriany suggesting it be dropped. Members insisted on it but made it applicable to "those who were officials in the former ruling party after the start of the Jan. 25 revolution in 2011." 
 
 Write to Sam Dagher at sam.dagher@wsj.com and Matt Bradley at matt.bradley@dowjones.com 
 
 A version of this article appeared November 30, 2012, on page A1 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Egypt Adds Islamic Influence to Constitution. ||||| 1 of 27. Protesters against President Mohamed Mursi are seen gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo in this general view taken November 30, 2012. An Islamist-led assembly raced through approval of a new constitution for Egypt on Friday to end a crisis over Mursi's newly expanded powers, but opponents responded with another rally in Cairo against the Islamist leader. 
 
 CAIRO (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Egyptians protested against President Mohamed Mursi on Friday after an Islamist-led assembly raced through approval of a new constitution in a bid to end a crisis over the Islamist leader's newly expanded powers. 
 
 "The people want to bring down the regime," they chanted in Tahrir Square, echoing the chants that rang out in the same place less than two years ago and brought down Hosni Mubarak. 
 
 Mursi said a decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which sparked eight days of protests and violence by Egyptians calling him a new dictator, was "for an exceptional stage" and aimed to speed up the democratic transition. 
 
 "It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television while the constituent assembly was still voting on a draft, which the Islamists say reflects Egypt's new freedoms. "There is no place for dictatorship." 
 
 But the opposition cried foul. Liberals, leftists, Christians, more moderate Muslims and others had withdrawn from the assembly, saying their voices were not being heard. 
 
 Even in the mosque where Mursi said Friday prayers some opponents chanted "Mursi: void" before sympathizers surrounded him shouting in support, journalists and a security source said. 
 
 Tens of thousands gathered across the country, filling Tahrir Square and hitting the streets in Alexandria and other cities, responding to opposition calls for a big turnout. Rival demonstrators clashed after dark in Alexandria and the Nile Delta town of Al-Mahala Al-Kobra, some hurling rocks in anger. 
 
 An opposition leaflet distributed on Tahrir urged protesters in Cairo to stay overnight before Saturday's rallies by Islamists; the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies said they would avoid the square during their demonstrations backing Mursi. 
 
 The disparate opposition, which has struggled to compete with well-organized Islamists, has been drawn together and reinvigorated by the crisis. Tens of thousands had also protested on Tuesday, showing the breadth of public anger. 
 
 POTENT MACHINE 
 
 But Islamists have a potent political machine and the United States has looked on warily at the rising power of a group it once kept at arms length now ruling a nation that has a peace treaty with Israel and is at the heart of the Arab Spring. 
 
 Protesters said they would push for a 'no' vote in a constitutional referendum, which could happen as early as mid-December. If the new basic law were approved, it would immediately cancel the president's decree. 
 
 "We fundamentally reject the referendum and constituent assembly because the assembly does not represent all sections of society," said Sayed el-Erian, 43, a protester in Tahrir and member of a party set up by opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei. 
 
 ElBaradei said in a statement the constitution had "lost legitimacy" and called for ending the polarization of Egypt. 
 
 The plebiscite on the constitution is a gamble based on the Islamists' belief they can mobilize voters again after winning every election held since Mubarak was toppled in February 2011. 
 
 Despite the big numbers opposed to him, Mursi can count on backing from the disciplined Brotherhood and Islamist allies, as well as many Egyptians who are simply exhausted by the turmoil. 
 
 "He just wants us to move on and not waste time in conflicts," said 33-year-old Cairo shopkeeper Abdel Nasser Marie. "Give the man a chance and Egypt a break." 
 
 But Mursi needs the cooperation of judges to oversee the vote, and many have been angered by a decree from Mursi they said undermined the judiciary. Some judges are on strike. 
 
 The assembly concluded the vote after a 19-hour session, faster than many expected, approving all 234 articles of the draft, covering presidential powers, the status of Islam, the military's role and human rights. 
 
 It introduces a presidential term limit of eight years - Mubarak served for 30. It also bring in a degree of civilian oversight over the military - though not enough for critics. 
 
 An Egyptian official said Mursi was expected to approve the document on Saturday and then has 15 days to hold a referendum. 
 
 "This is a revolutionary constitution," said Hossam el-Gheriyani, head of the assembly, urging members to campaign for the new constitution across Egypt, after the all-night session. 
 
 DEEPENING DIVISIONS 
 
 Critics argue it is an attempt to rush through a draft they say has been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, which backed Mursi for president in a June election, and its Islamist allies. 
 
 Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in protests since the decree was announced on November 22, deepening the divide between the newly empowered Islamists and their critics. 
 
 Seeking to placate opponents, Mursi welcomed criticism but said there was no place for violence. "I am very happy that Egypt has real political opposition," he told state television. 
 
 He said Egypt needed to attract investors and tourists. The crisis threatens to derail a fragile economic recovery after two years of turmoil. Egypt is waiting for the International Monetary Fund to finalize a $4.8 billion loan to help it out. 
 
 An alliance of opposition groups pledged to keep up protests and said broader civil disobedience was possible to fight what it described as an attempt to "kidnap Egypt from its people". 
 
 Several independent newspapers said they would not publish on Tuesday in protest. One of the papers also said three private satellite channels would halt broadcasts on Wednesday. 
 
 The draft injects new Islamic references into Egypt's system of government but keeps in place an article defining "the principles of sharia" as the main source of legislation - the same phrase found in the previous constitution. 
 
 The president can declare war with parliament's approval, but only after consulting a national defense council with a heavy military and security membership. That was not in the old constitution, used when Egypt was ruled by ex-military men. 
 
 Critics highlighted other flaws, such as articles pertaining to the rights of women and freedom of speech. 
 
 A new parliamentary election cannot be held until a new constitution is passed. Egypt has been without an elected legislature since a court ordered the dissolution of the Islamist-dominated lower house in June. 
 
 (Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh and Marwa Awad; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Alastair Macdonald)
– A draft constitution was approved in Egypt this morning after a marathon 16-hour voting session, but liberal, secular, and Christian members of the assembly have been walking out in protest for weeks, leaving Islamists to approve the draft without their input. The move, which was rushed in order to get the draft approved before the court rules on Sunday whether to dissolve the assembly, will likely further inflame tension between President Mohamed Morsi's supporters and the opponents who are angry over his recent power grab. An opposition rally is planned for today, the AP reports. Opponents say the new constitution, which the Wall Street Journal reports will be put to a national referendum mid-December, could give too much power to Muslim clerics and frequently refers to strict Shariah law, thus restricting freedoms. Women's rights are a particular concern; though the draft declares all citizens equal, one article specifically protecting women's equality was dumped. The revolutionaries did get some of their demands, the New York Times reports, including restrictions on torture and indefinite detention; but the new draft also gives much of the military's power back. Morsi says his new, controversial powers "will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," Reuters reports.