Prompted by those who defy granting the Muslim Brotherhood an official
political party that would enable them of serving and defending the people
and combating any exterior pressures (under the pretext that the law
prohibits the formation of religious-based parties), the Muslim
Brotherhood have issued a statement, announcing that they represent an
integrated Islamic body that has historical, political and social
legitimacy, and that has influence and prevalence covering all Egypt.
The MB, according to the statement, seeks to establish a civil
party of an Islamic authority in accordance with article II of
the Egyptian constitution. The statement adds that the constitution
secures freedom of political practice for all Egyptians, party members and
independents, and that the MBs will adopt all possible peaceful and
civilized methods, in compliance with the constitution, to practice their
constitutional and political rights.
Actually, the MBs keenness to form a political party is not new. Such
goal goes back to 1984, when the MB drafted a program for the Shura Party,
during the office of Umar At-Tilmisani, and another program for the Islah
Party, during the office of Mohamed Hamed Abu-an-Nasr. This is asserted by
the MB in their March 1994 statement entitled Counseling and Party
Multiplicity in the Muslim Society, as well as in their March 2004
initiative under the naming Freedom of Political Party Formation.
I- The Nature of the prospective party for the Muslim
Brotherhood
A. A civil party with an Islamic authority: a definition
1. Party: This means a group of people who
advocate one and the same open political program, and who work together to
promote their program with the objective of gaining
rule.
2. Civil: By civil party, it is meant a party
that is NOT religious-based. Religious-based parties tend
to be dogmatic parties that recruit only members affiliated to the same
religion, as they do not accept the other. Most such parties believe that
they have the ultimate truth and reckon any opponent a disbeliever
(blasphemous). They do not accede to peaceful conferring with the
authorities and reject democracy, but if they do, it is only to gain
power; then they slap any opponent whomsoever in the face. The MB, on the
other hand, pointedly refuses all such notions.
A civil party differs from a religious-based one along the
following points:
a. Recruits could be any civilian, irrespective
of his/her religion or affiliation. b. The
adopted program is developed by the groups members. It is not holy or
sacred, and thus could be amended or refuted.
c. The adopted program is a peaceful one. It
acknowledges women rights, liberties, peaceful conferring with the
authority, elections, dialogue, allies, conferences, marches,
demonstrations, mass media, etc. d. The civil
party rejects all means of violence, including verbal
violence. e. The civil party believes that people
are the source of authority, legitimacy, and self-determination: the
nations will is the source of legislation.
f. The civil party respects constitution and
law, and acts accordingly. g. The civil party
acknowledges liberties as well as civil, political, economic, social, and
cultural rights. h. The civil party
reckons the state one entity, safeguarding its institutions and refusing
any practice that would distort this. i. The
civil party realizes the importance of the role of the civil community,
thus is keen to boost and support the different bodies and institutions in
the community.
It is worth mentioning that the MB has set a good example to
everyone concerning the implementation of all the aforementioned points.
This finds evidence in their political activities in all fields, in spite
their being a political outcast. The MB, for example, fielded a feminine
candidate (Gihan Al-Halafawi) for the elections of the Peoples Assembly
for the year 2000. By this, they intended to demonstrate their actual
acknowledgment of womens rights, and their realization of the womans
political role in society.
The MB implements democracy to their internal structure. Members
were even detained and prosecuted before military courts for this cause
(83 members in 1995): their crime was that they had run elections for the
parliamentary council of their group!
The MB is known for its objectivity in backing other groups,
coordinating with them and sometimes even forming alliances with them.
Historical incidents bear witness to this: the incidents of Al-Wafd Party
(1984) and the Labor and Liberal Party (1987), the backing of Fuad Badrawi
(in the elections of 2000), of Munir Fakhri (a Wafdist), of Hamdin
Sabbahi, and of Abd-el-Adthim Al-Maghribi (a Nassirist). There is also a
big list of hybrid associations established by the MB.
The MB is known for its active participation in political and
mass activities, as well as for its peculiar ability of mobilization,
regulation and self-command.
The MB has an evident and pioneering role in the social,
charitable, and culturing fields in the
community.
3. Authority: Each party has its own intellectual
authority that controls its ideology and movements. As for the MB, its
authority is an Islamic one, which entails the following facts:
a. The group takes as its basic principles justice, counseling,
freedom, and equality. b. The group adopts a flexible,
non-dogmatic methodology in handling issues. c. Non-Muslims
members are invited to be part of the MB. d. Human rights are
acknowledged for Muslims and non-Muslims equally.
Why adopt an Islamic Authority?
a. Islam is the authority of the Egyptian
constitution itself. Article II of the constitution states that Egypt is
an Islamic Arab state, Islam is its official religion, and it is Islamic
rule that constitutes the main source of
legislation. b. Islam is the religion of the vast
majority of Egyptians, and it represents the basis of civilization for all
Egyptians, including Christians, as asserted by Fikri Makram Ebeid (Im a
Christian in religion, a Muslim in civilization), and many other
thinkers.
c. Religious parties are known to exist in
several countries. There is, for example, the Christian Democratic Party
in Italy and the religious-based Communal Party in the US. In fact, there
are religious based states such as Israel, India, Pakistan, and the
Vatican. There are even extreme religious parties within religious-based
states, such as the Shaas Party in Israel.
4. Analysts support civil party with an Islamic
authority Let us have a look at what other people have said in
this respect, and particularly at what Christians have themselves
declared:
Dr. Milaad Hanna: The only force existent now
in Egypt is the Muslim Brotherhood group, which represents one alternative
for the current regime. I thus demand that they be allowed forming a party
that would have an Islamic flavor in response to the religious tendency of
the Egyptian people. It is well known that Europe contains Christian
religious-based parties, which means that states allow the formation of
religious parties. Dr. Rafiq Habib demands two
things: 1. MB forms a political Islamic official party, 2. Party be
acknowledged by the state enabling it of serving its aspired social,
beneficent, and educational role inside the community.
Justice Yahya Al-Gamal: The historical accusations
leveled against the Muslim Brotherhood have no ground and could no longer
be accepted: the Muslim Brotherhood has proved the opposite. Their
political practices are good under the constraints imposed on
them. Dr. Reema Khalaf Al-Heneidi, Assitant
Secretary General of the UN and Head of the Regional Office of the Arab
States: The Muslim Brotherhood is a national force, which has to be
politically represented. They respect democratic principles and advocate a
non-violent ideology Hasanein
Kroom, a Nasserist journalist: The Muslim Brotherhood
contributed to reform since the eighties. They are not alien to the
community and so they should be politically fused and should be allowed a
political party. Dr. Gamal, a researcher at
the Center of Political and Strategic Studies, Al-Ahram stressed the
necessity of evaluating the political ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood,
as it differs from what is said in history. The political ideology of the
Muslim Brotherhood represents a mediator worthy of praise. It is a credit
for the entire Egyptian community, and it is no longer accepted,
politically or ethically, that the Muslim Brotherhood be banned or that
reform be postponed. Dr. Diaa Rashwaan: The
Muslim Brotherhood is a real political power, and they have the right to
have a political party that would represent them. We are not by this
claiming for them a force that has no roots in reality. They are actually
an undeniable major political power in both the Egyptian and the Arab
street. Dr. Muhammad Sayyed
Saeed, Deputy Manager of the Political and Strategic Studies
Office at Al-Ahram: Depriving the Muslim Brotherhood of legitimacy means
that a mainstream political trend would remain illegitimate, the thing
that cannot be accepted now. All means were used against the Muslim
Brotherhood, the political force that existed since 1928, to drive it away
from the mainstream life, but none of these methods worked. If the current
political regime did not hasten to legitimize the Muslim Brotherhood, it
is then an ostrich-like regime.
Such is the credit given to the Muslim Brotherhood by the demands made
by the elite political analysts. They have not come out of the blue, but
come as a natural and logical result of the history of the MB that is full
of sacrifices and members giving lives for their cause (e.g., Tariq
Ghannam, Akram Zuhayri, Musaad Qutb). They come as a result of the MBs
strong presence on all levels of political
work.
5. Why a party?
Forming a party is essential for performing the political tasks to
follow: a. Political disciplining and cultivation of the
community b. Culturing and raising the political awareness of the
community c. Practicing politics using all legitimate means and
degrees d. Reform on the basis of a national
agenda e. Strengthening the community so as to face exterior
pressures. f. Forming allies, which are considered necessary for
reform. g. Many other tasks.
Forming an MB party is necessary for the entire community in order to
enhance political work and reactivate political institutions. In fact, in
one of his interviews with Afaaq Arabiyya, Dr. Muhammad Mursi, member of
the MB Executive Bureau, stated the following facts of the previous
parliament The MB members represent 3.7% of the Peoples
Assembly (15 members), yet they have performed 30% of the assemblys
activities and have activated 15000 surveillance devices. Each
MB parliamentary member has made at least 10000 service for the citizens
of his constituency. The Muslim Brotherhood has introduced new
concepts into the parliament. They have demonstrated how an MP could
perform his tasks inside and outside the parliament. This has been
asserted by each of Refaat Al-Mahgoub and Fatthi Surour, as well as by
other political figures in parliament.
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