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Al-Ahram Weekly 19 - 25 August 1999 Issue No. 443 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 19 - 25 August 1999 Issue No. 443
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Former militants seek legal party
By Jailan HalawiMore than 70 Islamists, once affiliated with the militant Jihad group have announced plans to establish a political party under the name Hezb Al-Shari'a or Islamic Law Party. The Islamists have adopted an agenda that calls for Islamicising society and opposes the normalisation of relations with Israel.
The would-be founders have been accused by the government in the past of being active members of the Jihad group. The list of names is topped by Mamdouh Ismail, assistant to the secretary-general of the Association of Islamic Lawyers, a group dedicated to defending Islamists put on trial on charges of religious violence. Ismail served three years behind bars following the 1981 assassination of President Anwar El-Sadat.
A group of political experts, lawyers and researchers are preparing the necessary documents on the party's programme that will be submitted to the Political Parties Committee, a Shura Council affiliate responsible for licensing new political parties.
Militant Islamists have traditionally opposed the option of acting through a legal political party. However, it seems that many Islamists -- especially after the cease-fire call issued by the incarcerated leaders of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya in July 1997 -- are trying to find a foothold in the country's political life through peaceful and legitimate channels.
In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, Ismail said his initiative of establishing a party stemmed from his belief in the necessity of implementing Shari'a by peaceful methods. "We are the sons of the Islamist movement who struggled against, and clashed with, the government in 1981," he said. "We have been through a violent clash between the state and members of Islamist groups and saw the negative consequences of this violence. We have learned from bitter experience that we must re-order our priorities."
Ismail said "using political violence to express social or political demands is a blind alley and should be unacceptable in the first place. We should not bury our heads in the sand like ostriches and ignore the real reasons behind this violence and its continuation."
According to Ismail, the principal reason behind the violence is the absence of channels of dialogue with the government. "This is why large numbers of youths, religious and non-religious alike, use other methods of expression," he said. Mushrooming unemployment, corruption and consumerism are also factors behind political and social violence, he added.
The Political Parties Committee has a consistent position of turning down applications for the establishment of new parties. Moreover, the establishment of parties on a religious basis is prohibited by the Constitution. But, according to Ismail, it is about time the government realises there is no way to end violence except through the acceptance of the principles of "political pluralism and the right to [seek] change."
The party's platform listed three principles as the basis of their movement. The first is that "Islamic Shari'a is the source of legislation and development," affirming that the true development of the Arab and Islamic nation, including the Egyptian people, "cannot be achieved without full adherence to Shari'a as the source of legislation and governance."
The second principle is the belief in "political pluralism and the right to [seek] change." The programme argues that the reason behind political violence in the past 25 years is the government's failure to acknowledge "the right to [seek] change and free expression, as well as the right to differ politically without being victimised." This, Ismail said, "resulted in the blockage of channels of change and understanding, which resulted in the explosion of violence."
The third principle is the party's respect for what it calls the concept of national unity. "On the basis of our correct Islamic belief, respect for the freedom of religious choice and the understanding of the importance of national unity between Muslims and Christians in Egypt and other Arab countries, we affirm that Islam can boast an unprecedented historic experience regarding the protection of minorities and interaction with them," Ismail said.
The programme notes that the economic crisis is the result "of the sharp discrepancy between social strata, the concentration of money and power in the hands of a small class, which does not exceed 10 per cent of the population, as well as financial and economic corruption."
