Navigating a centrist course

By Amira Howeidy

Selim El-Awwa, lawyer for the would-be founders, appeared confident of victory. "Al-Wassat has become a reality and does not need a licence from anyone," El-Awwa told Al-Ahram Weekly. "The political and constitutional definition of a party is a group capable of political activity in a certain society. Al-Wassat has achieved that already; it is the only party that received excessive international attention, like no other party had received before. If we seek a license, it is simply because this is the only way we can operate legally."

El-Awwa, himself one of the would-be founders, said that "from a legal perspective, we have a very strong case. It will be very difficult for the tribunal to reject our appeal, but we still cannot predict what will happen."

When Abul-Ela Madi, former secretary-general of the Engineers' Syndicate and a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, first approached the Political Parties Committee with a request for establishing the Wassat Party two years ago, observers viewed it as an act of mutiny within the 70-year-old Islamist organisation. But some critics, citing the fact that the would-be founders were mainly Brotherhood members plus a handful of Christians, argued that Madi's action was yet another attempt by the Brotherhood to gain legality.

However, two years after the event, neither scenario appears to be acceptable. The platform of the would-be founders was recently published in the form of a book by the prestigious Dar El-Shorouk publishing house, reflecting in some sections different priorities from the Brotherhood's. The platform asserts that the people are the source of authority, unlike the Brotherhood which places the emphasis on religion. And yet the platform attaches importance to implementing Article 2 of the Constitution which stipulates that "Islamic Shari'a is the main source of legislation." Last August, the founders, along with a group of Nasserists and secularists, announced the formation of a shareholder company to put out a new weekly newspaper named Al-Mustaqbal (The Future). Although this project was thwarted by the recent changes in the Companies' Law, the founders are searching for a legal way out.

"Al-Wassat is the best political endeavour in the entire Islamist movement," said journalist Salah Eissa of the leftist Tagammu Party. "The founders have shown great intelligence and maturity and the Wassat can become an active political party in a short period of time."

Some analysts believe that the government has softened its opposition to the group. Back in 1996, after Madi's request was turned down, he was arrested briefly along with a number of Brotherhood members "for belonging to an illegal group... and attempting to circumvent legality by establishing the Wassat Party as a front for the Muslim Brotherhood." But, in a sign that the government might be switching signals, Madi appeared in a preview of a new television show last Ramadan entitled "Face to Face." However, the talk show was never screened for unknown reasons. So, did the government really soften its opposition?

"Appearing in a preview on the state-run Television could signal a significant change in government policy toward Al-Wassat," said Diaa Rashwan, an expert on political Islam, and the managing editor of the State of Religion in Egypt report, issued by the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. "But I believe that the government is still extra cautious with them."

Following Madi's initial attempt to establish the party, the Brotherhood's leaders, angry that such a step was taken without their consent, pressured the majority of would-be members to withdraw their applications. Although the Brotherhood's action allayed fears that Wassat could be a front for the Brotherhood, Rashwan remained sceptical that the government would grant them legality.

"It is far-fetched that the government would place its bets on a group that originally branched from the Brotherhood, although the group actively interacted with other political forces and embraced political trends that are different from the Brotherhood's," Rashwan said. "If the Wassat is legalised, who will guarantee, for example, that [Brotherhood spokesman] Maamoun El-Hodeibi will not become a member and, eventually, the party's leader?"

Although the gap between the Wassat and the Brotherhood has widened during the past two years, Rashwan maintains that the former has not matured enough to be a political force that must be reckoned with.

Reflecting another fear, Rashwan said that if the Wassat gains legality, "many people who are familiar with the Brotherhood, particularly in the provinces, will automatically think that this is a Brotherhood party."

El-Awwa responded that such interpretations are "completely mistaken." "The Brotherhood is an ideological group while the Wassat is a political party with a political platform that can be implemented, reviewed, changed, developed and modified in line with political developments," he said.

"When Madi was arrested two years ago just because he wanted to establish a party, the government held the mistaken belief that the party is the Brotherhood," El-Awwa said. "I and many others explained to government officials that this is not true. I believe they understand now."

El-Awwa insists, however, that he is not concerned with whether officials believe the party's claims or not. "We have a strong appeal, showing that the Political Parties Committee made grave legal mistakes when it turned down our request," he said. From his viewpoint, it is a legal "impossibility" for the tribunal to reject the appeal. "But if this happens, we still have another way out," El-Awwa said, refusing to say just what that other way might be.