Egyptians woke Friday morning to find their Internet access shut down in much of the country and to the sight of heavy deployments of black-clad, truncheon-wielding riot police, as the country braced for massive anti-government protests on a scale unseen in decades.

Opposition activists said the popular turnout on this traditional day of prayer and rest could prove to be decisive in determining whether the historic four-day-old protest movement gains momentum in its calls for the end of President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule, or fizzles beneath the weight of a violent government crackdown.

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