No Alliance With Salafists, Brotherhood-Allied Party Says

Egyptian youth holding poster of Al Nour of the Salafists. The group won seats in the national parliamentary elections along with the Brotherhood-allied FJP., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

December 1, 2011

No Alliance With Ultraconservatives, Islamist Party Says

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
New York Times

CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm on Thursday distanced itself from a more conservative Islamist party as early vote tallies indicated that the two factions would claim the two largest roles in the first Parliament elected since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Responding to reports that the two Islamist parties together could form a majority of the new Parliament, the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party denied that there was any “alleged alliance” with the ultraconservative party, Al Nour, to form “an Islamist government.”

The statement appeared to be aimed at quieting the anxiety of Egyptian liberals and Western governments about the unexpectedly large share of the vote apparently won by Al Nour, which was formed by the ultraconservative Islamists known as Salafis. It also reflected the fine line that the Muslim Brotherhood is walking as it tries to hold together its most ardent Islamist supporters in the streets without provoking a backlash at home or internationally.

The Egyptian authorities, citing the record turnout in voting this week, said Thursday that they had postponed by a day the scheduled announcement of official results from the first of three rounds of voting for the lower house of Parliament. But unofficial reports from state news media and party monitors continued to indicate that the Brotherhood’s party had won about 40 percent of the votes, the Salafi party about 25 percent and a liberal coalition known as the Egyptian Bloc slightly less.

Emboldened by its success, the Brotherhood’s party has said that Parliament should try to wrest the power to name a new prime minister from Egypt’s interim military rulers — an assertion of authority that the military council has so far rebuffed. But on Thursday the party also reiterated, as it has throughout the campaign, that it hoped to form a unity government with the more liberal parties in Parliament. The elections, it said in another statement, “will most likely lead to a balanced Parliament that reflects the various components of the Egyptian public.”

Liberal Egyptians have become increasingly afraid that that will not be the case; they were surprised by the unexpected success of the Salafis. In contrast to the Brotherhood’s emphasis during the campaign on tolerance and pluralism, the Salafis often talk about moving quickly to put in effect Islamic religious code on matters like banking, alcohol, women’s dress or entertainment.

Many male Salafi candidates refuse to shake hands with women and in interviews require female journalists to wear a veil. Egyptian law requires all parties to nominate at least one woman on each roster of candidates, but because many Salafis oppose putting women in leadership roles, they put their female candidates’ names last on each list. Often, the women’s campaign posters displayed flowers instead of their faces.

Scholars credited the Salafis’ success in part to their organizational advantages. The term Salafi is used for Muslims who seek to emulate the companions of the Prophet Muhammad, in their understanding and practice of Islam. Salafis had flourished for years in Egypt, but under Mr. Mubarak most had turned away from politics because they believed that law should come from God and not man.

But after the president was overthrown in February, opening the possibility of democratic change, some Salafis began to argue that by seeking office they could carry out God’s law through Parliament. And when they did turn to politics, they were able to rally an existing and organized network of as many as two million to four million Egyptians, said Shadi Hamid, a researcher at the Brookings Institution in Doha, Qatar. Many had already gravitated to the leadership of a local sheik.

The Muslim Brotherhood, in contrast, is believed to have about one million members, including 600,000 men and about 400,000 women, Mr. Hamid said.

“The Salafis have been underestimated from day one, because it is hard to imagine how this guy with a long beard and some aggressive ideas can actually gain much support,” Mr. Hamid said. “But elections are about organization and manpower, and they have a core group of supporters that is very mobilized.”

In Egypt, “liberals don’t have two million core supporters,” he added, “and they never will.”