Salafi Jihadi leaders have rejected the draft constitution for not applying Sharia forcefully enough.
They plan to continue meeting with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Salafi movements to attempt to convince them to vote “no” in the second phase of the constitutional referendum, and demand a new draft constitution that would be based more strictly on Sharia, the group said.
“The draft says the people are the authority, not God,” said Salafi Jihadi leader Mohamed al-Zawahiri, the brother of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. “This makes us infidels.” The group boycotted the first round of voting and plans to continue the boycott in the second round.
“Our position does not mean we are with the secular anti-Islamists,” Zawahiri continued. “Our allegiance is only to God’s religion.”
Article 2 of the draft constitution says the principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation.
Secular forces have also rejected the constitution and requested the formation of another Constituent Assembly, claiming that the current one was hijacked by Islamists.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
