Islamist forces tell Amani Maged there is no justification for Islamophobia Rankled by the results of the first round of parliamentary elections in Egypt, in which the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Salafist Nour Party captured, respectively, 40 and 20 per cent of the votes, some liberal and secularist leaders have unleashed a smear campaign against the Islamists. One salvo came from the business elite and, notably, from the well- known entrepreneur Naguib Sawiris who, in an interview on Canadian television, appealed to the West to intervene in what he described as an unequal battle. Not that Sawiris's remarks were the first of this kind. Secularists have been vying with one another in fanning phobia against Islamists. They warn that Muslim Brothers and Salafis will turn Egypt into another Iran, driving away foreigners and killing tourism after they force women to wear the veil and impose Islamic forms of punishment such as severing the hands of thieves and flogging adulterers in public. Islamists have been deeply stung by such attacks. FJP President Mohamed Mursi insists that the Copts' fears are groundless, since the principles of Sharia law ensure that non-Muslims have the right to appeal to their own religious strictures when it comes to personal affairs. "If this needs to be set down in a text, then so it will be," he said, "Mohamed Abdallah El-Khatib and the late Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mustafa Mashhur taught me that Copts have more rights to exact from Muslims than they imagine." FJP Vice President Essam El-Erian echoed such reassurances, saying that if anyone from within his party contravenes such rules the party will have courage to issue an apology, rectify the error and guide the wrong-doer towards the proper behaviour in Islam. He stressed that Islam does not conflict with the well-being of mankind but, rather, strives to bring all possible good. "The ship of Egypt is hurtling towards the high seas. Love, understanding, trust and good faith must prevail among its members so as to avert the danger of surging waves," he said. While political and intellectual elites might fear the Islamists the same does not apply to ordinary Egyptians, argues Wahid Abdel-Maguid, the chairman of the steering committee of the Democratic Alliance who has won a seat in the People's Assembly. Egyptians are much more aware and sophisticated than any generalisation that suggests that in voting for Islamist lists whole segments of the people voted against Christians. The people vote with their brain not with their gut, and if there were exceptions to this rule they were marginal, he insisted. Abdel-Maguid cited the high voter turnout in the 19 March referendum on constitutional amendments and, again, in the first phase of parliamentary elections as proof of the public's political awareness. On the implementation of Islamic forms of punishment, Salafist preacher Yasser Borhami says it is not possible at this time. "We need to address far more urgent problems, such as unemployment and creating jobs for young people which entails opening new avenues for investment in order to generate employment opportunities for people of working age. We also need to end the problems of spinsterhood and street children, to solve the problems of female-headed households, to provide suitable housing, to lower prices and to develop society as a whole." He stressed that Salafist groups could not impose Islamic forms of punishment single- handedly. "Contrary to what people imagine we are not religious moral squads. Such matters are in the hands of the ruling authority, in accordance with rules and conditions of the law." "Why," he asked, "are people so afraid of the application of Islamic forms of punishment in any case? They help make society safe because anyone who might contemplate a crime would know that his punishment awaits him, not to mention the punishment from the Almighty." Coptic thinker and FJP Vice President Rafiq Habib says the party poses no threat to personal liberties, particularly with regard to consumption of alcohol or dress codes. He explains that there are two components to the party's stance on freedoms. The first pertains to personal freedoms relating to Copts, Jews and foreigners, their religious observances and the types of food and drink they consume. These freedoms are fully guaranteed, he said. The second component consists of public freedoms that Muslims and Christians share. Islamist presidential hopeful Mohamed Selim El-Awwa has also said there will be no problem with drinking alcohol in private, since this comes under personal freedoms. However, alcohol consumption in public establishments is another matter. "Our mission is solely to advise," says newly elected Alexandrian MP Sobhi Saleh. "We advise women, whether mothers, daughters or sisters, to wear the veil. If anyone refuses that's her right. If she wants to go to hell, she is free to go." He was equally forthright on the question of Islamic punishments. "These are not open to discussion because they are not a matter of Muslim Brotherhood policy but rather Divine decree. However, they will not be applied because people are unable to find their daily sustenance," an allusion to the decision of the second Caliph to suspend application of such punishments during a widespread famine. "It does not make sense to overlook all the problems of society and focus on applying Islamic forms of punishment, banning alcohol and telling women how to dress." Some political observers suggest secularist alarmism is aimed more at Islam than at the Islamists, though this does not mean all fears are without substance. The Salafis have emerged from the political caves they dwelt in for years and are actively involved in politics for the first time. This is where the danger lurks in the opinion of some. However, they add, the Muslim Brothers and their nascent political party have many years of political experience and many of them have served beneath the parliamentary dome. In the forthcoming parliament they will seek to build public confidence through the passage of legislation aimed at ending the corruption that has run rampant for decades. Impartial analysts agree that Islamophobia in Egypt is an elitist phenomenon. The masses are not searching for alcohol but for food and butane cylinders which have vanished from the Egyptian market. Not are they obsessed with miniskirts at a time when they need heavy clothing to protect themselves against the winter cold that has driven away the warm breezes of the Arab Spring.
