Islamist factions are sometimes one, sometimes not, Amani Maged reports To borrow from a familiar maxim, "All's fair in love and elections." This certainly applies to the Islamist factions in Egypt, where one moment the Salafis and the Muslim Brothers are at each others' throats, in keeping with their historic animosity, and the next moment they are embracing one another in common electoral cause against the "remnants of the former regime." Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya is flirting with both for the same reason, making a cosy threesome. The relationship between the Sufis and the Salafis, meanwhile, is anything but cosy. The Sufis hold the Salafis responsible for desecrating Sufi shrines. Salafis consider these to be un-Islamic and equivalent to idol worship, and they were recently charged with the destruction of an imitation Pharaonic statue in a rural capital, although they were later cleared of involvement in that particular incident. Nor is the atmosphere rosy between the Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa and the Salafis' beloved Sheikh Abu Ishaq El-Huweini whose reported attempts to smear the mufti have been another source of controversy. In keeping with that well-known principle of Islamic jurisprudence known as sadd al-zaraai (obviating pretexts, or pre- empting evil by closing off all avenues to it), Nour (Light) Party president Emadeddin Abdel-Ghafour denied ever having attacked the Muslim Brotherhood via its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party. To do so would run against his outlook and personal nature, he said. On his Facebook page Abdel-Ghafour wrote, "I find it strange that some media outlets are claiming that I have attacked the Freedom and Justice Party or the Brotherhood. This is perfectly untrue. Firstly, it goes against my grain and my way of doing things and, secondly, it is inappropriate in the current phase, the demands of which I fully appreciate. In addition, I share bonds of friendship and affection with many Brotherhood members, whom I meet often, and it would be indecent to attack them in the manner described in the media." In like manner, Nader Bakkar, a member of the party's central board, strongly criticised attempts to drive a wedge between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis. Still, no one will be able to mar "the splendid model of brotherhood and coordination" that the Nour Party and the Freedom and Justice Party have set in motion, he declared. There may be some competition between the two parties, he added, but it is "honourable" and "in the interests of the man in the Egyptian street". Also keen to smooth over tensions, the prominent Salafi proselytiser Sheikh Yasser Burhami urged Salafis to support the Muslim Brotherhood and maintain unified ranks in the face of electoral thuggery and the remnants of the old regime. Muslim Brotherhood officials reciprocated. The Freedom and Justice Party denied the existence of a campaign between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis. Proof of this was to be found in the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood's party had refrained from fielding candidates against Nour Party candidates in many electoral districts and that the two parties were coordinating closely in a number of other electoral districts. While these Islamists have set off hand- in-hand towards the electoral horizon, the Sufis and Salafis remain permanently estranged. Senior staff and students of Al-Azhar University together with the International Federation of Sufi Ulema, which is headed by senior advisor to the rector of Al-Azhar Hassan El-Shafei, have organised a rally in Al-Azhar University Square today, Thursday, to demonstrate solidarity with the Egyptian Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa. Gomaa has been the victim of a campaign of character assassination spearheaded by Sheikh El-Huweini and Mazen El-Sarsawi on Hikma, a Salafi satellite television station. The International Federation of Sufi Ulema, in which a large number of Al-Azhar sheikhs and Muslim religious officials in other institutions are members, issued a statement warning the Egyptian people not to be deceived by "sectarian fanatics", as it described the Salafis, and urged the public to use every legitimate means to stop them. The federation called on all Egyptians who support Al-Azhar's moderate outlook to participate in today's demonstration of solidarity with Gomaa. In a recent "Border Guards" programme that was aired on the Salafist Hikma channel, Sheikh El-Huweini issued various slurs and aspersions against Sheikh Gomaa and attempted to denigrate his religious status. Sheikh Gomaa has opened legal proceedings against El-Huweini on charges of libel and slander. The suit accuses El-Huweini of issuing "false and groundless statements that are legally punishable by imprisonment and a fine" and stresses that the grand mufti's "extensive studies of Islamic law and jurisprudence fully qualify him for the highest religious office in Egypt." The plaintiff is seeking LE10,001 in compensation for the "moral and psychological damage" he suffered as a result of the perceived falsehoods and denigrating remarks intended to slander his person and tarnish his reputation. The Salafis, meanwhile, have turned out by the thousands in front of Kafr Al-Sheikh Court of Misdemeanours where Sheikh El-Huweini is being tried for slander. Not only did they brandish placards in support of El-Huweini and against Gomaa, but erected a podium upon which a train of Salafi sheikhs took turns hurling curses and allegations against the mufti whom they accused of being driven by "strong and dark ignorance into making war on El-Huweini, who spreads light." There is little chance that the Salafi-Sufi battle will end anytime soon, all the more so given the agenda of the political party that the Sufis are trying to establish. Called Tahrir, or liberation, one of its main aims is to fight the Salafis. According to some of the founders of this Sufi-Shia party, which has yet to receive official approval from the electoral commission, confronting the Salafist trend is an integral aim of the party's platform. The new Islamist map has been shifting, but it is growing clearer the closer we move to election day. The Salafis have begun a honeymoon with the Muslim Brotherhood while the Sufis are giving a wide berth to the Muslim Brotherhood and extending their hand to the liberals. Still, several important questions continue to hover over Egypt's first elections since the revolution: will the Muslim Brother-Salafist honeymoon last long enough to leave its imprint on the forthcoming parliament? More importantly, who will the Sufis vote for? Sufi lists have begun to contest the seats in some constituencies, but in constituencies in which there are no Sufi lists. Will the Sufi vote go to the liberals or the Muslim Brothers? As the situation stands, the most likely outcome will be the former, unless the latter begin to take steps to court the Sufi vote.
