Presidential candidate Mohamed Selim al-Awa has rejected calls for the Egyptian military to be given a role in protecting the civil state, as is the case in Turkey. Awa made his statements at a symposium at the Heliopolis Club on Monday.
“If the army is given such a role, we will find an officer sitting in each government or private institution,” he said. “And the military council should leave once we elect a president in February.”
On Islamist groups and the threats they pose to political life, Awa said Islam supports pluralism. “We have 23 schools of jurisprudence that all stem from two sources, namely the Quran and Sunna,” he said.
“The Islamic state is one of law, freedom and justice,” he said, adding that no particular group would dominate parliament, be they Salafi or liberal.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
