Egypt's Constitutional Assembly begins voting on draft document CAIRO - Egypt's Islamist-dominated constitutional convention began voting Thursday on the 230 articles of the nation's draft charter, a move that could inflame a political crisis touched off last week when President Mohamed Morsi gave himself sweeping new powers. Morsi, who cast his decree as a temporary necessity to protect Egypt's democratic transition until a constitution is adopted, was expected to address the nation later Thursday. Widespread street protests over his action continued into a seventh day, and some clashes between police and demonstrators were reported. The U.S. Embassy in Cairo - located near Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests - said crowds had blocked access to its building. "No departures or arrivals from the Embassy will be permitted until further notice," the embassy said in a statement posted on its Web site. The Embassy strongly urges U.S. citizens to avoid the Garden City area at this time. The crisis underscores the deep polarization among Egypt's political classes as the country struggles to define a new body of laws and the nature of its religious identity, nearly two years after a popular uprising forced longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power. At the center of the turmoil is Egypt's nascent constitution. The assembly tasked with drafting the charter has been dominated by Islamists - a reflection of the country's first democratically elected parliament, which was dissolved by earlier this year after an order from a court dominated by Mubarak-era appointees. Liberals and secularists say that the constituent assembly does not adequately represent them and accuse it of seeking to implement Islamic law through the charter. Many have seized on the outrage over Morsi's decree as an opportunity to rally wider support against Islamist rule. If the assembly approves the draft constitution, it would be put to a public referendum. Morsi's supporters seemed to think that rushing the constitution to a vote might end the latest crisis, since he has said he would relinquish power once the charter is in place. But opposition leaders said Wednesday that the move by the Muslim Brotherhood-led committee to rush the process would be a grave mistake. The assembly "doesn't express Egyptians now, and morally and politically it's already been dissolved," said Hamdeen Sabahi, a prominent secular politician and one of the top contenders for Egypt's presidency in the summer. But if they insist on completing the draft from one side and only one faction of Egyptians - the Muslim Brotherhood - it means it won't even be a constitution. Egypt's crisis would only deepen, Sabahi added, "and, of course, we will refuse that." The crisis has pitted Morsi and his Islamist supporters against not only a justice system still dominated by Mubarak appointees but also an unlikely alliance of human rights groups, liberal youth activists and the old- regime loyalists they once opposed. Opposition leaders said they planned to hold more marches Thursday and Friday, and the Muslim Brotherhood called for a rival nationwide demonstration in support of the edict Saturday.