Will superstar preacher end up being president? Gihan Shahine wonders Superstar Islamic preacher would not give a clear-cut answer to whether he would run for president. The question, however, has recently been the subject of heated public debate. The highly charismatic preacher, who has been banned from preaching in Egypt for 10 years, yet whose television shows have attracted a larger audience than that of Oprah Winfrey, has been extraordinarily active since the 25 January Revolution which toppled the regime, and which has long clamped down on Khaled's activities. Khaled, who is also the founder of the development organisations Life Makers and the Right Start Foundation, has been all over the place, adopting a rhetoric which employs faith as a driving force towards harder work, social activism and development. For the preacher-turned-reformer, Upper Egypt's Sohag was the first stop on his jam- packed schedule of visits for being the most underprivileged governorate nationwide. Khaled typically rallied the masses and received cheers for his emotionally-charged calls to "dream bigger, work harder" now that "there are no limits". Since then, Khaled has been on a roller coaster of visits to several governorates, including Alexandria and Mansoura, addressing youths in several national and private universities and rallying masses of fans. He has also been reaching out to Copts and was among those who visited the trouble-ridden village of Sol, in Atfeeh, to settle sectarian rifts between Copts and Muslims. His two main projects at the moment are those of Insan, an anti-poverty project that was stopped by the former regime, and a national illiteracy project which he launched in association with Vodafone. Does the highly charismatic preacher, once dubbed by Time magazine 'The Billy Graham of Islam' for the worldwide popularity of his television shows and his Facebook page that boasts a membership of two million fans, plan to run for president of Egypt? Khaled told the Baladna talk show on the On TV satellite channel that he was not obliged to give a direct answer to the question. He said he is currently more than happy "sowing the seeds of development" via his non-governmental organisation Life Makers. But Khaled did not rule out running for the presidency since "the political ground is changing fast and everyday we find five new candidates for the post of president." Khaled, however, put it flatly that he was ready to engage in politics, forming a political party or joining one that already exists, only if that would help him realise his prime dream of achieving progress for the country. A political party, Khaled argued, would allow far better resources for development than those a non-governmental organisation like Life Makers can offer. "There is nothing wrong or shameful about being engaged in politics, after all," he noted. Khaled, however, insisted that the party he plans to form will be a non-religious one with an agenda focussing solely on "development, development, development". Khaled's argument is that "whereas faith is not lacking in Egypt, hard work is and there is an urgent need for a clear-cut vision and a national plan for development." Khaled suggested the idea of forming a political party on his website and asked the country's youth to come up with ideas for it. "The 190 responses he received over three days ranged between accepting and rejecting the idea," wrote the daily independent Al-Masry Al-Yom. Supporters of the idea also called on Khaled to run in the next presidential elections. Khaled is probably testing the waters for such a big step, which he conceded was "a huge responsibility, for those undertaking it, in both life and the afterlife." The waters may prove too murky for anyone with an Islamic identity to run at the moment, no matter how moderate or how much credibility and popularity he may enjoy. The recent referendum on constitutional amendments which resulted in a yes vote majority has created a divide in the political scene. Islamists, most prominently Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood, urged the yes vote while secularists and Copts supported the no vote. Although many supporters of the constitutional amendments were seeking economic and political stability that they believed would ultimately lead to social security, the yes vote was largely seen in a religious context. It was generally interpreted as symptomatic of the massive influence that Islamists -- especially the Brotherhood -- have over a nation that is largely considered religious by default. "If that divide persists," said Gamal Asaad, a disgruntled secular Coptic thinker, "there is no way Copts will ever give their voice to anyone with an Islamic identity, be it or anyone else." An impatient Asaad did not care to listen about the young preacher's attempts to reach out to Copts. Asaad's biggest worry is that those running in the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections will now try to get the support of Islamists to win more votes, which, he insisted, "would immediately put Copts and secularists in conflict with anyone with an Islamic background." Yehia Qazzaz, an equally disenchanted political activist, expressed similar pessimism over the influence Islamists may have over the coming parliamentary and presidential elections which, he predicted, would hinder a fair vote. That scenario, if true, may not necessarily serve in Khaled's favour. Khaled's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood has always been controversial. He has repeatedly declared that he was no longer a member of the Muslim Brotherhood which he joined only when he was a university student, then left it. "The group, for its part, has repeatedly tried to take advantage of him [Khaled] or get him to join it once more, however, he has always refused and has indeed been eager to show that he does not belong to it," wrote Al-Masry Al-Yom. Khaled's ties with the MB became more strained during the notorious parliamentary elections of November last year. Khaled perhaps shot himself in the foot when he accepted an invitation by former minister Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub to deliver a lecture in Seiuf Youth Centre in Alexandria at the time. El-Mahgoub was running as a candidate for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) in parliamentary elections at the time against eight MB members in a constituency in Alexandria. The lecture, albeit apolitical and purely spiritual, was thus immediately described by Khaled's critics as promoting the NDP agenda. Many Brotherhood figures advised Khaled not to give the sermon during that specific time. Khaled, however, insisted the lecture had nothing to do with politics or promoting an NDP candidate. He said the lecture was no more than a long-awaited chance to meet with the people face to face for the first time in 10 years, away from the barriers of TV screens. But some remain unconvinced. Hussein El-Boghdadi, a Brotherhood member and a retired driver, suspects that Khaled "changes his tactics according to his personal interests. "We will only give our vote to someone who serves the interests of the people," El-Boghdadi insists. It remains questionable whether other Brotherhood members would show any stronger support for the 44-year-old preacher. MB and former MP Hamdi Hassan says it is already premature for the group to decide who they will vote for as president. But Hassan said he personally would not go for Khaled. He insisted this was his own personal viewpoint and did not, in anyway, reflect that of the group. Hassan's argument is that Khaled was hardly critical of the past regime and never put himself in confrontation with it. "We never heard him criticising corruption, for instance, when it was rife," Hassan elaborated. "Instead, Khaled took the safe side, shunning politics altogether. He always chose to focus on rhetoric promoting social activism and development. So why engage in politics now?" For Hassan, the fact that Khaled was banned by the former regime was not enough reason for him to shun politics. After all, Hassan argued, "members of the Brotherhood were jailed and tortured but that never meant giving up their fight against repression and corruption." Khaled's popularity and ability to mobilise large numbers of youths and present a moderate Islamic discourse that stands at odds with the state marketed image of Islam as the religion of the poor and extremists had always been a source of worry for the former regime. He was banned from preaching in Egypt in 2001 and forced out of the country. In 2009, after a brief return, Khaled again had to leave the country when his initiative to alleviate poverty was stopped by the regime for being regarded as a rival to the Alf Qaria (A Thousand Villages) project, sponsored by Gamal Mubarak, son of the deposed president Hosni Mubarak. Khaled told the Cairo Review of Global Affairs that although he "did not talk about political issues", what he was doing was "the root of democracy and politics." Which is basically why the regime "stopped all my activities", he said. Khaled joined the 25 January Revolution but was not one of its designers. Thus, despite his ability to rally massive numbers of youths, many members of the 25 January coalition of youths may not think of giving their votes to the popular preacher. "Khaled is an accepted figure but he does not reflect the revolutionary spirit of today's Egypt," Qazzaz noted. "He always takes the safe side, leans towards peaceful tactics, avoids confrontation, and is very cautious in his calculations." Which, according to Qazzaz, may explain why the televangelist did not join the revolution in its first days. El-Qazzaz will not vote for Khaled as a preident. For a young political activist like Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, who is among the coalition of youths who sparked the revolution and who is a member of the opposition Kifaya movement, the very discussion of whether "a preacher can be elected president is a sign of the political vacuum left by 30 years of repression." "This is not an underestimation of preachers; it is just a matter of specialisation," Abdel-Aziz insisted. Abdel-Aziz's argument is that popularity and integrity are not enough assets for someone to run a country of such political and strategic weight as Egypt. The young activist similarly finds little, if no, link between preaching and civil work on the one hand and politics on the other. "There is more to Egypt than poverty and illiteracy," Abdel-Aziz argued. The next president will have more serious and critical issues to tackle. The Arab-Israeli conflict, US-Egyptian relations, conflicts over Egypt's strategic quota of the River Nile and a huge economic problem are among the major issues on the coming president's plate. The issues are "far too much responsibility for a social activist or a preacher to handle," Abdel-Aziz insisted. "They will need an experienced politician with a strategic outlook and a clear economic and political agenda," Abdel-Aziz said. Qazzaz, however, argues that experience is not the main prerequisite for a president if the country has a democratic system that allows democracy and plurality. "We are seeking a country that is no longer run by a single person, but rather by number of institutions," Qazzaz explained. In that context, Qazzaz would suggest that the voters focus on the political affiliation, views, integrity and patriotism of the new president. But, according to Qazzaz, the president-to-be will also have to be an accepted figure in the West. "There is no denying that the United States and its Israeli ally will have to make sure the next president will guard their interests in the region," Qazzaz told Al-Ahram Weekly. Khaled acquired immense popularity in Europe and the United States for his two TV programmes, 'Life Makers' and 'In the Steps of the Prophet'. Both promote social activism, job creation and development as the means to fight despair, unemployment, extremism and injustice. His logic throughout the series is that those who do not learn how to help themselves will never be able to decide their future, nor will they be following in the footsteps of the Prophet Mohamed. Time magazine once selected Khaled among the top 100 most influential people worldwide for being "a rock star for a segment of the Islamic world" and "a needed voice for moderation from within the Islamic world". The magazine praised his programme Life Makers "because it encourages Muslims to implement plans to transform their lives and communities through Islam. It also urges them to get along peacefully with the West." Time further said, "What really put Khaled on the world stage was his decision to host an interfaith conference in Copenhagen in March 2006, after the controversies over the Danish cartoons mocking the Prophet Mohamed." A State Department official earlier told The New York Times that Khaled's message was "very much in sync with what we want to say to the Muslim world, which is that we have no problem with Islam and no problem with conservative Islam." The Independent similarly revealed how the British government has been "happy" to support Khaled's efforts. According to the daily, Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells sent a message of support to Khaled praising him for his "courage and strength in attempting to bring cultures together." The paper also wrote that the British cabinet has been suggesting "ways of strengthening the hand of moderate Muslim leaders, including young Muslims with future leadership potential" and that "leaked British cabinet papers named Khaled as a figure worth promoting as a counterweight to the imams preaching jihad in England." The World Health Organisation (WHO) has honoured Khaled for his anti-smoking TV campaigns after a large number of his audience heeded his call and kicked the habit. Back in his homeland, Khaled still enjoys much of his popularity as the first Islamic televangelist whose moderate preaching, highly charismatic personality and clever use of barrier-breaking technology have influenced the lives of millions of young Muslims across the world. Khaled's message has always been directed at youths and the higher strata of society, and his discourse witnessed a gradual shift from a purely spiritual message of piety and devotion to God, to social development based on faith, and building dialogue with the West. Today, Khaled says, youth should understand that abandoning smoking, fighting drug addiction, cleaning up their streets, planting crops on their building rooftops, educating the public in self-hygiene and even engaging in fitness exercises are all part of their worship of God. Bur even his most faithful fans are divided between those calling upon him on Facebook to become president and those advising him not to get bogged down in politics. Khaled, however, does not seem to listen much to advice. At the outset of his career as a preacher, he was advised not to talk about religion and remain in his original domain as an accountant. When he became a superstar preacher, critics then advised Khaled to quit social activism promoted by Life Makers and focus on his successful career as a preacher. Today, many would similarly advise Khaled to focus on social activism and preaching as the two fields he excels in and stay away from politics. Which "p" Khaled will ultimately choose -- that of a preacher, politician or president -- remains an open question.
