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| Africa North |
| Egyptian Islamists plunge into politics |
| 2011-05-27 |
| While the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, has attracted the most scrutiny and fear among Egyptian liberals, the Islamic end of the political spectrum is growing crowded with fringe movements announcing bids to run in the parliamentary elections come September. Nagib Gibra'il, a Christian lawyer and head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization, said, "The situation is extremely dangerous. According to polls, Islamist parties will receive more than 50 percent of the votes in the elections and form the next government. This will jeopardize the revolution and the country itself." A poll published by the New York-based Pew Research Center earlier this month found that Egyptians were almost evenly divided between those who “sympathize” with Islamic fundamentalists and those who don’t. Still, Islamic parties are making efforts to present themselves as moderates. The Safety and Development Party, created by former members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, is led by Kamal Al-Said Habib, who spent 10 years in prison for his involvement in the Sadat assassination. Nevertheless, the party says that it will allow Coptic Christians and women to join. Tareq and Aboud Al-Zumr, cousins who belong to the Islamist Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya, announced their aim to form a political party before September's elections. Released from prison in March after serving thirty years for plotting to kill Sadat, they sought to alleviate fears by saying their party wouldn’t run a candidate for president. "Islamists do not seek to dominate," said Tareq Zumr on Tuesday. Critics say that the moderation is a façade that would quickly come down once the Islamists gained power. Both Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya and Egyptian Islamic Jihad are considered terror organizations by the U.S. and officially outlawed in Egypt. The Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm expressed similar anxieties this week, reporting that the founding members of the new party, many of whom hold doctorates, prefer to use the religious title of "sheikh" rather than "doctor." The newspaper also noticed a change in dress once party leaders thought they weren't being observed by journalists. "Strangely, following the conference some members of the group changed back from their suits to white robes; forced to change near their cars for lack of room inside the conference hall," the paper reported. A senior analyst at International Crisis Group, Elijah Zarwan, said it is not clear whether the new parties would be allowed to register, since religious parties are banned. September’s election will be the first free vote in Egypt, but the country still has no new election law. "It's hard to imagine these groups convincingly presenting themselves as secular parties," Zarwan said. Meanwhile, rumors that the tiny Shiite minority was also planning to create a political party have enraged Egyptian Salafis. "We will call on people to fight the supporters of this movement. We have received information indicating that the Shiite sect plans to form a party and publish a newspaper supported by Iran from within," Salafi leader Gamal Al-Marakby told Al-Masry Al-Youm Tuesday. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #3 "Islamists do not seek to dominate," said Tareq Zumr on Tuesday. And then his lips fell off. Tareq, you're a lying sack of sh*t. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2011-05-27 17:24 |
| #2 Real surprise, huh. I seem to recall MSM stories about how the Muslim Brotherhood wasn't going to get involved in politics and would NEVER run a candidate in the Egyptian presidential election. No, no, certainly not. The only word missing in this story is 'unexpectedly'. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2011-05-27 16:45 |
| #1 When this settles out, Barack Obama will be known as Jimmy Carter times 4 or 5. |
| Posted by: Zebulon Thranter9685 2011-05-27 13:12 |