Egyptian Parliamentary Deputies Defy Court and Military Sherif Abd El Minoem/Egyptian Presidency, via Associated Press Tensions seemed to ease Monday as Egypt's president, Mohamed Morsi, third from right, and Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, fourth from right, attended a military graduation. CAIRO - In a raw contest between Egypt's competing centers of power, legislators on Tuesday defied the country's highest court and its most senior generals by holding a brief session of the dissolved Parliament, heeding an order by President Mohamed Morsi in the face of opposition from judges and the military. The session lasted only a few minutes, long enough for lawmakers to approve a proposal by the speaker, Saad el-Katatni of the Muslim Brotherhood, to appeal to the Court of Cassation against an earlier ruling that Mr. Morsi's effort to revive the Parliament was an affront to the rule of law. The authorities had made no move to prevent the gathering of Parliament. The assembly is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, which also nominated Mr. Morsi as its candidate in the presidential elections that brought him to power. The power struggle reflected dueling claims to Egypt's emerging politics, with each side trying to frame the debate as a contest for ideals, legitimacy and democracy. The generals, backed by the court, argue that the new president must respect legal precedents and the institutions of the state. The new president, in turn, is calling on the generals to respect a popular will that was expressed through free elections. But at its core, the fate of this Parliament is another chapter in the long-running battle between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military that intensified when the generals dissolved the legislature last month based on a court order and seized all lawmaking and executive authority. The developments have worried the United States and other powers concerned that the standoff might imperil Egypt's political future. Speaking during an Asian tour on Tuesday, Reuters reported, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appealed to the parties to talk out their differences. "We strongly urge dialogue and concerted effort on the part of all to try to deal with the problems that are understandable but have to be resolved in order to avoid any kind of difficulties that could derail the transition that is going on," she said. The response by the military and the court on Monday threw Egypt into a new phase of political turmoil, with the prospect of a presidency weakened even further, a legislative vacuum and a bitter split at the highest levels of government. And it revived ideological rifts that many people hoped would quiet with the election of a new president. Mr. Morsi called on Sunday for the Islamist-led Parliament to return, staking his new presidency on the outcome of the conflict. The body's speaker scheduled a session for Tuesday, but it was unclear how many lawmakers would appear, or whether the security forces would try to block them, as they did once before. And Parliament's ability to pass laws is already in doubt, given the court ruling that led to its dissolution. Mr. Morsi, hemmed in by the generals" near monopoly on power, moved after just nine days in office. His bold decree was a gamble that he could wrest legislative authority from the military and enhance his popular credibility. Prof. Mona El-Ghobashy, an expert on Egypt's judiciary who teaches political science at Barnard College, said: "These are two of the most powerful forces in Egypt right now. Each is seeking its own supremacy and the subordination of the other. Mr. Morsi's unexpected countermove was hailed by his supporters as a victory for civilian rule. But with uncharacteristic speed, the Supreme Constitutional Court on Monday sought to reclaim the high ground, claiming an apolitical role and its "sacred task" as the defender of constitutional texts. Its decisions, the court said, "are final and not subject to appeals." Mr. Morsi insisted he was not ignoring the court, but merely setting a time frame for carrying out its decision. His office fired back with a robust defense of his order, saying a provision that called for the election of a new Parliament showed his respect for the court's rulings. Hours later, the military issued a statement justifying its power grab by saying it was imposed by "necessity and the political, judicial and constitutional circumstances the country is going through." The brinkmanship and the profusion of legal arguments clouded a subtler duel between the Brotherhood and the military. In many ways the court and the president are proxies for a fight between the nation's oldest and most influential Islamist organization and appointees of the ousted president, Hosni Mubarak. In Egypt's postrevolt politics, their ideological struggle has been eclipsed by a more fundamental conflict, between "elected and unelected parts of the state," Professor Ghobashy said. Mayy El Sheikh and David D. Kirkpatrick contributed reporting.