Cairo: Being one of very few Islamist parties that have survived a recent crackdown by Egyptian authorities, the ultra-conservative Salafist Al Nur Party is stepping up efforts to face up to a campaign targeting its existence allegedly for advocating a religious platform.

Al Nur was licensed months after the 2011 uprising that forced long-time president Hosni Mubarak to step down. The party held around 24 per cent of seats in the last parliament dissolved in 2012, coming second to the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

In recent weeks, Al Nur launched a series of rallies aimed at whitewashing its image and portraying itself as a moderate Islamist party open to all Egyptians. At the gatherings, the party’s leaders were keen to denounce deadly attacks in Egypt believed to have been launched by Islamist insurgents backing Islamist president Mohammad Mursi who was deposed by the army in mid-2013.

Al Nur backed Mursi’s ouster, a stance that has earned it accusations of treachery and hypocrisy from the Islamist leader’s Muslim Brotherhood and followers. Even though, several secular politicians, loyalist to President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi who led Mursi’s overthrow, question Al Nur’s agenda.

“We refuse the use of religion in politics,” said Abdul Ghafar Shukri, a leftist politician. “The constitution, adopted earlier this year, bans the establishment of political parties on religious grounds. Therefore, Al Nur has to choose between being a religious forum or a purely political party,” he added.

The pro-Al Sissi Tamarod movement is more vociferous in criticizing Al Nur. “It is a misleading party that tries to deceive Egyptians,” said Mohammad Raai, a Tamarod member. “Al Nur is giving us the false impression that it supports President Al Sissi and his efforts to restore stability while it is in fact on the side of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood. A look at the history of Al Nur after the revolution against Mubarak will show that it was an obedient follower of the Brotherhood and backed all its decisions,” he added.

Al Nur is widely seen as the political arm of the Salafist Dawa (Call) group whose leaders have been recently barred by Egyptian authorities from preaching in state-run mosques.

An Egyptian court is expected next month to rule on several lawsuits requesting Al Nur be invalidated allegedly for being a religious party.

In a pre-emptive step, Al Nur has announced plans to field candidates from the minority Christians in the parliamentary elections due next year.

To Al Nur officials, the campaign against the party is aimed at denting its image ahead of the forthcoming election.

“Our party is keen to preserve national interests and unity,” said Tareq Al Sehri, a member of Al Nur. “We supported the June 30 Revolution,” he said, referring to the 2013 street protests that led to Mursi’s toppling. “We also actively participated in the drafting of the constitution and was praised for this by everyone at the time including the liberals who assail us now.”

Al Sehri described Al Nur as a political party with an Islamic background. “This complies with the Constitution, which states that the Islamic Sharia (law) is the main source of legislation in Egypt,” he said.

“Those attacking us do not want to see a strong national opposition in the country. With all this rise in violence and terrorism, Egyptian society needs moderate Islamist parties.”