CAIRO – Egypt’s president Sunday ordered the Islamist-dominated parliament to reconvene in defiance of a military decree dissolving the legislature last month on the basis of a ruling by the country’s top court, the state news agency reported.

The surprise move by President Mohammed Morsi, himself an Islamist, will almost certainly lead to a clash with the powerful generals who formally handed power to him June 30 after spending 16 months at the nation’s helm after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising.

The move also reflects confusion in the roles and powers of Egypt’s governing institutions, with the constitution in force under Mubarak suspended after the uprising and no new one adopted.