Salafists move to clear air

Cairo: Followers of a puritanical form of Islam will fill about a quarter of the seats in the lower house of the new Egyptian parliament today, underscoring the political power being wielded by Islamists in the wake of the Arab Spring.

Finding themselves badly outnumbered, some Egyptian liberals are weighing whether to align themselves with the moderate Muslim Brotherhood in hopes of preventing an all-Islamist alliance between the Brotherhood, whose Freedom and Justice Party will be the largest in the new parliament, and the conservative Salafist Nour party, the second-largest.

Some liberal Egyptian politicians say the two Islamist groups could be pushed together if liberals refuse to negotiate with the Muslim Brotherhood in the coming parliament.

"They're scared of the Salafists and they want the secular people to join with the Brotherhood so the Brotherhood and Salafists don't join together," Mohammad Abu Al Gar, who heads the leftist Social Democratic Party, said in describing what he called Western fears.

History of rivalry

A history of rivalry between the two Islamist groups makes an alliance between the Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood unlikely. But the two parties do play to an overlapping Islamist base and the Salafists' strong electoral showing has given new prominence morality issues.

"The Nour Party's presence definitely puts pressure on the Freedom and Justice Party" in a conservative direction, said Mohammad Beltagy, a Freedom and Justice parliament member, adding that his party's own wins could pressure the Salafists to become more moderate. A first official meeting between US Ambassador Anne Patterson and representatives of the Salafist Party was to be held yesterday.

Smear campaign

Members of the Salafist Party say they are trying to counter what they call a smear campaign trying to depict them as uncompromising and scary conservatives that will transform Egypt into a rigid Islamic state like Iran.

They have stated publicly that they would conditionally respect the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, and have tempered language about Islamic tourism and banking laws that scare foreign investors.

While public health and restarting the economy and services will be high on the agenda of the Nour Party, the institution of Islamic law is among its top priorities during the constitutional writing process, Nader Bakr, a party spokesman, said. He said the party favoured the prohibition on the sale of alcohol to Muslims, though tourists would be permitted to bring it into the country and drink in hotel rooms.

He said the party believed that women should be strongly encouraged to cover their hair in the Islamic tradition, but would not be forced to do so.

— Washington Post