Dena Rashed examines the electoral programme and ideas of presidential candidate Mohamed Selim El-Awwa In the historical palace of Salaheddin Al-Ayoubi, first sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the mediaeval Ayubbid dynasty, presidential candidate Mohamed Selim El-Awwa launched his presidential campaign last week. Choosing such a unique location to launch a campaign was the decision of a candidate who has always been a staunch defender of the richness and moderation of Islam, El-Awwa's name always having been that of a moderate Islamist thinker. He is also a lawyer, international litigator, college professor and former general-secretary of the International Federation of Islamic Scholars. El-Awwa is one of three Islamist candidates standing in the upcoming presidential elections, the others being Abdel-Moneim Abul-Fotouh, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Mohamed Mursi, head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. Like the other Islamist candidates, El-Awwa calls for referring to the Islamic Sharia as the source of legislation in Egypt. Interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly by e-mail this week owing to his tight schedule, El-Awwa said that his project was one of "moderate Egyptian Islam" that would improve people's lives and safeguard Islamic principles. However, he also differs from the discourse of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis when he says that "Islam has always been for a civil state with a religious reference," and "Quran is the constitution of the people, but not that of the state." Regarding the application of Islamic hodoud (punishments) in Egypt, El-Awwa said that hodoud are "boundaries" that protect society and they should be set up after the purposes and goals of Sharia have been realised and the society set on the correct foundations. The father of five children, El-Awwa, 69, graduated in law from Alexandria University in 1963, and then obtained a degree in Islamic jurisprudence from the same university followed by a law diploma. He started his career in 1963 in the public prosecution office, but was arrested in 1965 in a clampdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, although he claims that he was not a member. He then worked as a lawyer for the Council of Ministers in Kuwait, later earning a degree in the comparative study of Islamic and anglo-saxon legal systems from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London in 1972. He was a college professor teaching law and Islamic jurisprudence in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Sudan throughout the 1970s, and has held different positions in many organisations and groups. El-Awwa was among a group representing the International Federation of Islamic Scholars that visited Darfour in Sudan in 2004 to try to solve the crisis there. He also took part in reconciliation efforts in Lebanon in 2006 and 2007. He was one of eight scholars to review Sudanese Islamic laws in 1986 to make them more compatible with the Islamic Sharia. After his return to Egypt in 1985, El-Awwa began teaching constitutional law at Zagazig University and then at Ain Shams University in Cairo. With 27 books and hundreds of research papers to his name, his works have become references for many researchers on Islam. Justice and equality are El-Awwa's keywords in his electoral programme for president. The interests of human beings should be at the top of any political agenda, he says, and no authority should be allowed to confiscate people's rights. He calls for the equality of all citizens against discrimination and stresses the separation of powers, the judicial supervision of the legislature, and judicial supervision of the police. Regarding the rights to education and healthcare, El-Awwa stresses the right of the underprivileged to better education and access to medical services. If elected president, he would call for 15 per cent of the budget to be directed towards the health sector. He believes in a national plan for disease prevention and to raise public awareness. On education, El-Awwa says that two factors are of fundamental importance: freedom in universities, which will enhance the creativity and thinking of both the teachers and the students, and the relationship between schools, teachers and families. "Egypt's significance" is what El-Awwa refers to when it comes to discussing the country's economic position and foreign relationships. Among his ideas is to install a progressive taxation system and a gradual decrease in energy subsidies for heavy industries consuming around 75 per cent of subsidised natural gas and 65 per cent of electricity. He believes that Egypt has to regain its status in the Arab, Muslim and wider world, saying that over the past 30 years many of its relationships with other countries have been neglected. HOT TOPICS: Among El-Awwa's views are opinions on some of the hot political topics of the day: The Shia: El-Awwa has opinions that are controversial for some hardliners like the Salafis, who have accused him of siding with the Shia, a matter that he has explained in many interviews. Our future as Sunnis necessarily involves the Shia, he says, even if they have beliefs and behaviour that we disagree with. However, he is against the foundation of political parties based on Shia principles. The peace treaty and exporting natural gas to Israel: On Egypt's relationship with Israel, El-Awwa says that Islam honours treaties, making Egypt bound to preserve the Camp David Accords. "There should be negotiations to amend some articles of the treaty that go against Egypt's interests, like dividing the Sinai into three demilitarised areas, allowing Israelis into the Sinai without visas, and other privileges given to Israel that should stop immediately," he says. Egypt's decision to stop exporting natural gas is the right decision, he says, based on annulling the contract between the General Authority for Petroleum and the Middle East Petroleum Company, which exports the gas. El-Awwa stresses that exporting the gas is based on an economic treaty and not associated with the peace treaty. Egypt's Coptic community: Following the arrest of the son of a priest in a ship smuggling weapons from Israel in 2010, El-Awwa stated in an interview with Al-Jazeera that such acts could mean that some churches were storing up weapons to use against Muslims. Tensions at the time were high, as a result of the Camillia Shehata case, a Coptic woman thought to have converted to Islam. El-Awwa attacked Bishop Bishoi, a leading member of the Coptic Church, after the latter had said that Muslims were "guests of Christians" and "what happened inside the Church was the Church's business." El-Awwa argued that the Church, like other institutions in the state, should be supervised by the law, and shouldn't be allowed to become "a state within the state." El-Awwa has since announced that he doesn't oppose the right of any Copt to hold the presidency, or any other high-ranking position in the state, as long as he is the people's choice. Women: Again contrary to the hardliners, El-Awwa has said that he respects the right of women to run for office and to hold high-ranking positions in the state. He told the Weekly that "women are subjected to great injustice. It is not just a matter of giving attention to women's causes: what I see is that women make up half of the society, and they have the same rights and obligations as men and should be treated from such a perspective. There is no difference between men and women: efficiency is what matters." The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces: El-Awwa has been criticised for his relationship with the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), some commentators arguing that he changed his position criticising the SCAF in the months following the revolution to one defending it after becoming a member of the advisory council appointed by the SCAF last November. El-Awwa defends his position by saying that, "when I agreed with their opinions, I stated it clearly, and when I disagreed with them concerning the need to set a date for transferring power to a civilian government and regarding former deputy prime minister Ali El-Selmi's charter of constitutional principles, I also said so clearly." Art and culture: These topics have become major concerns for many liberals and intellectuals due to the rise of Islamism after the last parliamentary elections. El-Awwa has stated that if he becomes president, no book will be confiscated, and the freedom of artists and filmmakers will be guaranteed unless they break the law. He is personally a fan of old black-and-white movies, of actors Adel Imam and Ahmed Helmi, and singer Umm Kolthoum. El-Awwa's support: El-Awwa says he has a good relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, even though the group officially supports Mohamed Mursi, its official candidate. Younger members of the group could give their votes to El-Awwa, though he faces a tough competitor in Abul-Fotouh. The Wasat Party, which El-Awwa supported when it broke away from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1995, has declared that 63 per cent of its members voted for Abul-Fotouh, while 23 per cent went to El-Awwa in support of a presidential candidate. The Salafi Daawa and Nour Party announced a week ago that their votes would support Abul-Fotouh. While El-Awwa is a regular guest on many TV shows, Aisha Abu Zeid, one of his long-time supporters explained that, "he only has some posters, and no banners or billboards like others. Money will be a determining factor in the forthcoming elections, and El-Awwa does not have the financial backing that others have." According to Abu Zeid, El-Awwa "has vision, and he has always advocated unity with other Arab countries, something that no other candidate has talked about. He has a great respect for all religions and doesn't fear expressing his opinions, even if he is attacked for it. He doesn't flirt with the media like other candidates. Due to his calls for calm in a time of political turmoil, he has been criticised as an advocate for the SCAF." If El-Awwa wins in the presidential elections, he told the Weekly that his first act would be to pass a law "fighting hypocrisy and banning congratulatory advertisements by ministers and officials in praise of the president." He has a good chance of winning, he believes, as "this is what I feel on my tours and my meetings with the people."
