A high-profile spokesperson for the Salafi Dawah, the parent organization of the Nour Party, accused the Muslim Brotherhood of opposing the explicit stipulation of Sharia as the main source of legislation in the constitution at a seminar Tuesday.
Abdel Moneim al-Shahat stressed that the organization will not remain silent towards political groups in the Constituent Assembly that he said have been struggling to prevent the application of Islamic Law in the constitution during a seminar at a students hostel in Smouha, Alexandria.
Article 2 of the 1971 constitution, which remains unchanged in the draft of the new constitution issued in October, stipulates that the principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation. The article has been the subject of heated debate over the drafting process, with Salafis wanting the word “principles” omitted. Secular groups and the Brotherhood wish to keep the original phrasing.
Salafis had called for staging protests on 9 November to push for the adoption of wording in Article 2 that clearly calls for Sharia.
Shahat rejected the Brotherhood’s suggestions to apply Sharia gradually. He said the organization will lobby all Muslims who are protective of their faith to press for that demand.
He stressed that Salafis should not boycott the next parliamentary elections.
“Despite the negative aspects of Salafi representation in the last Parliament, it was that representation that allowed them to be present at the Constituent Assembly and press for Sharia,” he said.
