Egypt's Minister of Culture Alaa Abdel Aziz resigned his post on Saturday, saying that he would continue in a cabinet "under a coup that did not pursue the mechanisms of democracy."

Abdel Aziz said on his official page that his "history as an independent intellectual" and his "revolutionary conscious would not consent to a military coup," adding, "That which is based on falsehood is false."

The controversial Islamist minister called on all Egyptians of all different political backgrounds to rally peacefully across the country, in defence of the January uprising and the democratic transition despite the "misguidance and the anti-democracy forces."

Abdel Aziz added that the army should not be a component of the political game.