Salafists in the eye of the storm during election

Cairo: More than four years after its establishment, Egypt’s Salafist Al Nour (The Light) Party is struggling for survival amid salvos targeting it from secularists and Islamists alike.

Secular activists are campaigning for the ultra-conservative party, which is the only Islamist force contesting the current parliamentary elections, Egypt’s first since the 2013 ouster of president Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The campaigners say that Al Nour must be dissolved for being founded on religious grounds in violation of the constitution, a claim denied by the party officials.

“Mixing politics with religious work has harmed the country before,” said Mohammad Basyouni of the secular Al Karama (Dignity) Party, referring to turmoil when the Brotherhood was in power. “Had the constitution been implemented, there would have been no need for this campaign.”

Al Nour backed the army’s toppling of Mursi, a move that has earned it the enmity of Islamists, including the Brotherhood.

Criticism by secularists and Islamists have recently intensified after Al Nour announced standing for parliament although the party said it is competing for a lower number of seats than it did in the 2011 legislative polls.

Al Nour won a quarter of Egypt’s 2011 Islamist-led parliament, coming only after the now-outlawed Brotherhood.

“The party has chosen to reduce the number of its candidates in a sign of goodwill that it wants cooperation with other political powers and does not seek to monopolise the coming parliament,” Ashraf Abdul Aleem, a senior Al Nour official, said.

However, some analysts see little chance for Al Nour in the current voting, which runs until early December.

“Al Nour is facing several obstacles,” said Yussri Al Azabawi, an expert at the state-run Al Ahram Centre for Political Studies. “A large category of Egyptians are adopting a line against Islamists after the frustrating experience of the Brotherhood. Voters are unlikely to back any candidate linked to any Islamist party,” he added.

“Moreover, Al Nour’s failure to enter into any election alliance with others further weakens its strength inside the new parliament.”

In the run-up to the polls, media backing President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi lashed out at Al Nour, accusing the party of political opportunism and being a cover-up for the Brotherhood to sneak back into the new legislature.

Officials in the party have repeatedly denied the charges, noting that Brotherhood loyalists have already accused them of treachery for backing Mursi’s removal.

In an apparent bid to boost its public image and chances at the ballot box, Al Nour is fielding several candidates from Egypt’s Christian minority.

The party has also pledged to mobilise its supporters to go to polls in order to bolster a paltry voter turnout in the current election.

“Anyone calling for boycotting the election is harming the country,” Al Nour said in a statement on Monday. “The parliament is one way for introducing change.”

Islamists, including the Brotherhood, have urged their supporters to boycott the polls, calling it a sham.