The policies of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB)'s proposed Freedom and Justice Party will be based on Islamic Law "but will be acceptable to a wide segment of the population," leading MB member Essam al-Arian said on Wednesday. “When we look at the revolution's slogans, such as 'freedom,' 'social justice' and 'equality'--all of these can be found in Islamic Law," said al-Arian. "This revolution is calling for what Islamic Law calls for." He added that the party would not dispense with foreign and Arab investment in Egypt, stressing that the MB supports free-market capitalism, but without manipulation or monopoly. Al-Arian was also quoted by the official Middle East News Agency as saying that the party's political program would include tourism as a main source of national income. He added that a total of four Islamic political parties would be formed in the wake of Egypt's 25 January uprising. A well-informed source said that negotiations were currently underway between members of the MB internal opposition front and leaders of the Wasat Party--which was recently given full legal status--to annex the MB's reform wing to the newly-established party. The source added that, in the event that negotiations fail, the MB internal opposition front would establish a party called the “Reform Party.” The source noted that the front had prepared the first draft of its political program, which it has begun distributing to a number of intellectuals, including head of the Constitutional Amendment Committee Tarek al-Bishri. Meanwhile, former assistant interior minister Abdullah al-Ashaal announced the establishment of the new “Free Egypt Party,” which he said would field candidates in upcoming parliamentary elections. Al-Ashaal added that he himself planned to run in Egypt's upcoming presidential elections slated for later this year. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
