CAIRO — Thousands of opponents of Egypt’s Islamist president clashed with his supporters in cities across the country today, burning several offices of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the most violent and widespread protests since Mohammed Morsi came to power,.

This was sparked by his move to grant himself sweeping powers.

The violence reflected the increasingly dangerous polarization in Egypt over what course it will take nearly two years after the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.

Critics of Morsi accused him of seizing dictatorial powers with his decrees a day earlier that make him immune to judicial oversight and give him authority to take any steps against “threats to the revolution”. Today, the president spoke before a crowd of his supporters massed in front of his palace and said his edits were necessary to stop a “minority” that was trying to block the goals of the revolution.

“There are weevils eating away at the nation of Egypt,” he said, pointing to old regime loyalists he accused of using money to fuel instability and to members of the judiciary who work under the “umbrella” of the courts to “harm the country.”

Clashes between his opponents and members of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood erupted in several cities.