The Islamist current is less united now than before 30 June. Ahead of the mass demonstrations that led to the removal of president Mohamed Morsi, the Salafist Calling had made it clear it would not ally with the Muslim Brotherhood. Its decision was motivated by earlier differences with Morsi and mounting acrimony between it and the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, on the other hand, did side with the Muslim Brotherhood following Morsi's ouster. Both groups are now fighting for survival, each in its own way. The Salafist Calling, through its political wing the Nour Party, has seized upon the defence of Egypt's Islamic identity as its lifeline. It agreed to take part in the roadmap announced by Minister of Defence General Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi on 3 July with the avowed aim of ensuring articles 2 and 219 of the suspended 2012 constitution — the Salafist Calling claims they define Egypt's Islamic identity — are retained. As a consequence the Nour Party did not take part in any of the activities called by the National Alliance in Support of Legitimacy, formed after 30 June, or in any of the pro-Morsi demonstrations and sit-ins, though it did issue a statement condemning the breakup of the pro-Morsi sit-ins in Nasr City's Rabaa Al-Adaweya and Giza's Nahda Square. Initially it was reported that the Nour Party had refused to participate in the 50-member commission mandated to draft amendments to the constitution after contentious articles had first been reviewed by a committee of 10 experts. Only after it was leaked that the preliminary review had recommended that Article 219 — a gloss on how Sharia law should be interpreted — should be discarded did the Nour Party issue a statement saying it would be represented on the Committee of Fifty. Party officials said the decision to participate had been taken “with reservations”. They reiterated their demand that the two articles the party claims define Egypt's Islamic identity remain untouched and also insisted the 50-member committee's discussions of amendments be open to the public. Nour Party leaders have made clear that they believe non-participation makes the elimination of Article 219 a foregone conclusion. Signalling that they are willing to strike a deal, Nour Party spokesmen say that as long as 219 remains untouched they are willing to cooperate over other articles. They have also warned that should their demands over the so called Islamic identity articles not be met then the committee's work would become mired in disputes, hampering the possibility of a new constitution being placed before the public any time soon. Some commentators suggest the party was pressured into taking part in the committee to create the impression the Islamist trend was not being excluded from the constitution writing process. Nour Party leaders deny that their arm has been twisted and insist their participation remains contingent on the amendment of only pre-agreed articles. Articles subject to further disputes, they say, must await change until a new parliament is elected. In a tactical move aimed at courting Al-Azhar, Salafi leaders have suggested the Sunni world's oldest body has its representation on the 50-member committee upped to three. Another tactic in the Nour Party's fight for political survival has been to threaten to mobilise a no vote against the constitution if it does not retain the identity articles it wants, raising the spectre of Salafis, Muslim Brotherhood supporters and other segments of the Islamist current unifying ranks against a constitution they deem unacceptable. Unlike the Salafist Calling, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya and its political wing, the Construction and Development Party, did ally with the Muslim Brotherhood and was clearly visible at the Rabaa Al-Adaweya sit-in. Today the group fears a return to the days of police pursuit and hiding. Such worries have been heightened by rumours that some of its leaders were involved in the murder of police officers in the district of Kerdasa. Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya leaders deny the allegation and have been at pains to issue numerous statements stressing their continued renunciation of violence. In the aftermath of hundreds of casualties among Islamist ranks in recent weeks, Aboud Al-Zomor reaffirmed his opposition to a reversion to “armed struggle”. At the same time he warned against any attempt by Hosni Mubarak, who was released from prison and placed under house arrest last week, to return to politics. Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya is desperately trying to distance itself from the wave of violence that has swept the country. Spokesmen for the group say that it has warned its members that anyone who participated in attacks against government facilities, the Armed Forces, police, or church buildings will be expelled. The spokesmen added that they would continue to voice opposition to the current government through legitimate, peaceful means. Al-Zomor has condemned attacks on churches and claims to have always opposed such acts, pointing out that even when in prison he issued a statement denouncing assaults on houses of worship as a violation of Islamic law. Recent attacks on police stations, says one Gamaa Al-Islamiya leader, are a “natural popular reaction against the bases of injustice in society”, a response to the use of excessive force in order to clear the sit-ins at Rabaa and Nahda. According to a senior leader of the Islamist organisation, Aboud's brother, Tarek Al-Zomor has been instructed not to appear in the media or at any other public event. The same applies to Essam Abdel-Maged, against whom an arrest warrant was recently issued. While Muslim Brotherhood officials and spokesmen remain adamant that Morsi must be reinstated, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya accepts that Morsi's return to the presidential palace is impossible. It argues that a popular referendum on the roadmap supported by the current government is a realistic way out of the current impasse. In short, the Salafist Calling and Nour Party are pursuing the participatory option, albeit with a curious combination of enticement and threat, while Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya is struggling not only with allegations that it was involved in recent clashes, but is desperately trying to dispel any suspicion that it might revert to violence. For both groups it is a fight to survive.
