Egypt’s Islamists form own political party, contending they are not “theocratic”

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, long-banned under the toppled regime of President Hosni Mubarak, announced on Saturday the formation of a party to contest up to half of parliament’s seats in a September election.

In a statement issued after a meeting of its decision-making Shura (consultative) council, Reuters reported the group as saying that it had decided to contest “between 45 and 50 percent of parliament’s seats.”

Mohammed Hussein, the group's secretary general, said at a news conference that the movement’s consultative council decided at a meeting to adopt a decision to form the new Freedom and Justice Party.

“We have adopted the measures taken by the guidance council regarding the Freedom and Justice Party and adopted its program,” Agence-France Presse quoted him as saying.

He said the party, which will be headed by the Brotherhood’s politburo member Mohammed al-Mursi, will be “independent from the Brotherhood but will coordinate with it.”

Mr. al-Mursi also said in the conference that party was not “theocratic,” and was willing to cooperate with secular groups in the upcoming September elections.

The Brotherhood, which is considered the most or the only truly organized block in Egypt was banned under the Mubarak regime, and ran in elections only as independents.

The group won a fifth of the seats in a 2005 elections, but fared much worse in a November 2010 election which was dubbed by Egyptians as rigged and favoring the former ruling National Democratic Party.

“It is not an Islamist party in the old understanding, it is not theocratic,” Mr. al-Mursi added.

“It is a civil party,” he said at the news conference.

Egypt’s constitution bans parties based on religion, class or regionalism. Since 1866, Egypt has seen seven parliamentary systems, and 32 parliaments. Membership in these parliaments has ranged from 75 to 458.

The last parliament was bicameral, consisting of the lower house, the People’s Assembly—or Majlis al-Sha’ab—with 454 seats; and the upper house, the Shura Council—or Majlis al-Shura—with 265 seats. Mr. Mubarak’s now-dissolved National Democratic Party dominated both houses.

Mr. Mubarak has long used the Brotherhood as a pretext against overhauling the country into a “true” democracy, fearing that the previously banned party will form an Islamist parliamentary majority, tilting the country’s foreign policy and swaying Egypt’s alliance from the United States, which also views the group with suspicion.

Since Mr. Mubarak’s rule was ended by a mass uprising, the Brotherhood has stated that it does not seek power, and has said it will not seek the presidency or a majority in parliament. Left unclear is why, in that case, the Brotherhood would want to contest elections at all.

(Dina Al-Shibeeb of Al Arabiya can be reached at: [email protected])