For 15 years, Abouel Ela Madi, a 52-year-old mechanical engineer and former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, campaigned to have the government recognize his Wasat Party. Along with hundreds of the party’s other founders, Madi struggled under oppressive laws regulating party formation under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak. He applied four times to the notorious Political Parties’ Committee to acquire a license. Each time, the answer was a non-negotiable rejection, which drove him to court hoping that the judiciary would support his plea.
Finally, on 19 February, almost a week after Mubarak resigned, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in favor of his party, which many analysts praise as the Egyptian heir of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party.
In the mid-1990s, Madi broke ranks with Egypt’s oldest Islamic group and sought to offer a moderate version of political Islam through the Wasat Party. Party founders hold “Islamic-Arab civilization” as a frame of reference but express their full espousal of democracy.
Unlike the Muslim Brotherhood, the Wasat platform shows a firm belief in equality between Copts and Muslims. The party also supports women’s right to hold higher public office, including the presidency. To prove the consistency of their outlook, party architects have included three females and two Christians in their Supreme Committee. On the economic front, Wasat envisions an open-market economy with a strong regulatory state that can stem corruption and develop an efficient taxation system.
Shortly before speaking to journalists about the future of his nascent party on Tuesday, Madi, now Wasat president, sat with Al-Masry Al-Youm to discuss Egypt’s democratic transition, the immediate challenges his party faces, and prospects for other Islamic groups.
Al-Masry Al-Youm: How did you feel when you heard the verdict?
Abouel Ela Madi: I felt overwhelmed and satisfied. We waited for so long and went through a lot of hardships. The verdict was handed down in a free political environment. It came on the heels of our success to topple the regime….That was the biggest achievement that all Egyptians experienced and felt proud of. The recent verdict came to complement that happiness. We have been struggling to get recognition since January 10, 1996. We tried four consecutive times to get the license, but the regime was unjustifiably resilient. On the contrary, all observers and politicians believed in the importance of the party and felt that its existence would strike a certain balance in society. But the regime had turned a deaf ear to all these arguments. But finally, we came into existence in a different environment.
If we had gained recognition before the revolution, conspiracy theorists would have argued that the regime wanted to use us against the Muslim Brotherhood… I feel grateful to the revolution and to the martyrs. Thanks to them, we are living now in an environment of freedom. We believe the emergence of the Wasat Party is the first fruit of the 25 January revolution
Al-Masry: You have been trying to get official recognition for the last 15 years. What has changed in the party during that time?
Madi: We have developed our ideas and come up with four platforms. Each version was more mature and better developed than the previous one. I believe the final version is the most mature political project that we have proposed.
Al-Masry: Mature in what sense?
Madi: Mature in the sense of the ideas it carries and the level of openness it shows. It also understands the complexity of realities and ways to deal with them.
Secondly, during those 15 years, we managed to build a network of connections with many forces. We built bridges with all effective political groups, influential personalities and different types of elites. We also developed ties with the Arab World and the West. I spoke at most European parliaments and explained our ideas to them. I went to the German, French, British and Italian parliaments. I also went to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, the American [State Department], US Congress and think tanks.
Al-Masry: How many members does your party have so far?
Madi: We have 1200 founders… I don’t have an exact figure for members. In the past, we used to ask people who are interested in our party to fill the application and wait until we get recognized. Back then, we could not include them as members because legally we were nonexistent. But since 19 February, we have begun to accept members. Hundreds of people have been applying on a daily basis since then. Now, we are working hard on the applications.
Al-Masry: What is the biggest challenge you are facing now?
Madi: The challenge is how to handle new members and build a strong party that can compete in elections.
Al-Masry: Are you planning on participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections?
Madi: Yes.
Al-Masry: How many seats will your party run for?
Madi: We do not know yet. We will participate this time but we will be actually competing in the next elections.
Al-Masry: How about the presidential elections? Are you going to field a candidate?
Madi: We have not discussed that yet at the party, but we are not against the idea. All possibilities are open.
Al-Masry: How would you assess what happened from 25 January to 11 February?
Madi: This has been one of the greatest revolutions in the world’s history. It is an achievement that each Egyptian should take pride in… Egyptians began to value themselves at home and abroad. Those who had been politically disengaged and skeptical about their potential are showing interest in politics now… This is a tremendous change. Tunisians were the spark, but as soon as Egyptians rebelled, they engendered a Tsunami that swept other Arab countries.
Al-Masry: Do you think the six-month transitional period is enough?
Madi: No, it is not enough. It might be enough for constitutional amendments and presidential elections but it is not enough to hold parliamentary elections. The Muslim Brotherhood is the only political force ready for the parliamentary race. In order to have fair parliamentary elections where all parties can stand a chance, we need at least one year to build those parties.
Al-Masry: What is your assessment of the performance of the military so far?
Madi: Given the complex civilian duties they have to fulfill, I think they have made reasonable achievements so far. Yet, we still feel that there are other urgent demands that have to be met. We are thankful for what they have done but we ask them to rush in handling other demands in order to thwart counterrevolutionary attempts.
Al-Masry: You are usually compared to Turkey’s Justice and Development Party, what do you think of this comparison?
Madi: It is true, we are very close to them. There are many similarities between us and the JDP, despite contextual differences between Egypt and Turkey. Both of us try to upgrade Islamic thinking and cooperate with other political forces. On the personal level, I knew Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan andhis wife even before he became mayor [of Istanbul [in 1994]… Actually, we began our [Wasat] project four years before the JDP was formed. But due to undemocratic restrictions, we were late… The Justice and Development party serves as a model for openness to others and huge achievements on the economic as well on the foreign policy levels… I believe it is an excellent model.
Al-Masry: Were you influenced by the Justice and Development Party?
Madi: Undoubtedly, we were influenced by its performance. We departed from the same vantage point believing in the need to upgrade the Islamic political discourse. We had two attempts before them; one in 1996 and another in 1998. Yet, the performance of the JDP influenced and impressed the Arab world and the Egyptian people. We are not just impressed by them but we also belong to the same school of thought.
Al-Masry: In your opinion, what is the future of Egypt’s Islamic movement in light of the much-anticipated democratic transition?
Madi: Let me tell you something. We believe that democracy is the key to solving all Egypt’s problems. This has been one of our essential ideas and people know that. We have always said that there are four main political currents in Egypt: Liberal, leftist, nationalist and Islamist… Since 1952 and after the political opening that took place under Sadat, all political currents have been integrated in the system except Islamists. We have liberal, left-wing and nationalist parties but there are no Islamist parties. Hence, the Islamic movement was alienated.
We studied this problem while we were still members of the Muslim Brotherhood. We tried to make some upgrading from within the group but we failed. We wanted to integrate moderate Islamists in the political life. We offered the model of the Wasat Party and we said whoever wants to get integrated should do the following: accept the rules of the game, believe in democracy and pluralism, and believe in equality between men and women on one hand and Muslims and Christians on the other. In other words, citizenship values should be endorsed.
The current environment will help Islamist groups upgrade themselves. Persecution, torture and alienation that fomented extremism do not exist anymore. I remember a man telling me in Tahrir Square: “We made Muslim Brotherhood members Egyptian.” I asked him “What do you mean? They have always been Egyptian.” He replied saying: “I mean they are now like normal Egyptians, they laugh, make jokes, do not get tense when they see an unveiled woman, and smile at seeing someone sing or play drums….This is a big achievement and it cannot take place unless we live in a free and democratic environment.
Al-Masry: In a democratic system, what should be the regulations controlling the integration of Islamists?
Madi: For the sake of justice and impartiality, let us talk about regulations that should be applied to all Egyptians rather than just Islamists. First, any party should not have proselytizing activities. Second, it should accept the rules of democracy, which means it should not discriminate against citizens on basis of religion, sex, ethnicity or wealth. It should have neither military nor paramilitary militias and should receive no money from abroad. It should not have members who engage in combat outside Egypt. All party accounts should be transparent and monitored by the Central Auditing Organization.
Al-Masry: Most of the regulations you mentioned seem to be targeting the Muslim Brotherhood?
Madi: Not only the Muslim Brotherhood. Actually, these regulations apply more to al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, which said it might form a political party. Such issues raise too much fear and the society has to be reassured. In the meantime, we should give Islamists the right to participate in politics.
Al-Masry: What are your expectations for the Muslim Brotherhood?
Madi: No civilization can last forever and no group can last forever. The Muslim Brotherhood are standing at a crossroads, if they do not upgrade themselves and adapt to the new era, their influence will decline. Now, there is no reason not to do that… They used to blame persecution and oppression for their inability to upgrade themselves. This external factor does not exist anymore.
Al-Masry: The Muslim Brotherhood announced this week that it will form a party under the name “Freedom and Justice.” Do you think this announcement has anything to do with your party coming into existence?
Madi: Yes, as far as I know, the Muslim Brotherhood is worried that some of its young members might join our party. They are trying to preempt that…And they have all the right to form a party. May God help them.
Al-Masry: Do you expect moderate voices within the group to join you?
Madi: Yes, and actually some have already asked for membership and we have no problem with that. But we will announce their names at the right time.
