EGYPT: Muslim Brotherhood denies women and non-Muslims right to Egyptian presidency

Record ID: 438695

  • Title: EGYPT: Muslim Brotherhood denies women and non-Muslims right to Egyptian presidency
  • Date: 26th October 2007
  • Summary: (MER1) CAIRO, EGYPT (OCTOBER 25, 2007) (REUTERS) SENIOR MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MEMBER ESSAM AL-ERIAN GREETING REUTERS REPORTERS POSTER ON WALL OF OFFICE FEATURING PICTURE OF MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD FOUNDER HASSAN AL-BANNA DEPUTY MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD LEADER MOHAMMED HABIB ENTERING OFFICE FOR INTERVIEW
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA9QO4YDROQYCSDDYVZESHXCD6
  • Story Text: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood refuses to back down on its position that women and non-Muslims should be denied the Egyptian presidency, says the Islamist group's Deputy Leader Mohammed Habib.
    The deputy leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Mohammed Habib said on Thursday (October 25) that the group would not back down on its position that women and non-Muslims should be denied the presidency of the country.
    The Brotherhood, which is Egypt's largest opposition group, laid out the position in a recently published political programme, the broadest since the group's inception in 1928.
    The position has alarmed secular activists and some Islamists, who said it contradicted the group's repeated statements in favour of equal rights among all Egyptians.
    Habib said the group's decision was based on the principles of Islamic law.
    "We are saying that our programme proposes this idea - that the president of the state should be a Muslim and a man. This is Islamic Jurisprudence [fiqh], this is a choice of Islamic Jurisprudence [fiqh]. This does not mean that there are no other Islamic Jurisprudence [fiqh] choices, but we have accepted that choice and I believe we haven't reversed our acceptance," he said.
    The group's programme places major emphasis on the importance of Sharia Law and the integration between Islam and its principles and all aspects of life from politics to foreign investment and creative arts.
    Habib also decried an ongoing government crackdown on the Brotherhood that has seen hundreds of members detained, its finances frozen, and its protests violently disrupted.
    "Generally we see that there is a very strong crackdown by the state or specifically by the regime to prevent the Brotherhood having a role in Egypt's political life. Therefore we are keen to have a presence regardless of the seats we may win, if any," he said.
    On Wednesday (October 24), the Muslim Brotherhood claimed that thirteen university students affiliated with the group were arrested and several beaten during a protest over alleged election vote rigging in student elections in which the Brotherhood candidates have been banned.
    On Thursday Habib also said that the group does not seek to overthrow the government of longtime Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
    "We are not competing for power and we are not an alternative to the regime and we are not in a hurry attain power. We work to develop a strong popular sentiment capable of getting back its rights," he said.
    Egypt is dominated by Sunni Muslims, with Christians consisting of around 10 percent of the 75 million population. The current constitution has no restrictions on the ethnicity of the president.
    The government calls the Brotherhood an illegal organisation but the Islamist group has one fifth of the seats in parliament and operates openly within strict limits.
    Brotherhood officials say the Egyptian authorities are now holding about 100 of its members, many of them without charge. The number is down from several hundred at a time earlier in the year.
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