Wafd Party chief El-Sayyed el-Badawi has announced his party's support for Pope Shenouda, in his stance against a recent Administrative Court decision obliging the Church to allow second marriages for Copts. The Pope believes this decision violates Christian law and is outside the jurisdication of the Administrative Court. "The Wafd Party's door is open for Copts, even before Muslims," said el-Badawi at a press conference after his meeting with the pope on Tuesday. He affirmed that Shenouda is a national leader loved by all Egyptians for his stances. He also expressed his opposition to Copts visiting Jerusalem while it is still under occupation. Edward Dawood, member of the party's high council, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Shenouda asked el-Badawi to field some Christian candidates in the November parliamentary elections, a request to which el-Badawi agreed. Mahmoud Abaza, the former Wafd Party head, and Mouneer Fakhri Abdel Noor, the party's secretary general, were supposed attend the meeting but could not make it due to other commitments. Since his election as party chief last month, el-Badawi, owner of a popular Egyptian television station, has been reaching out to different constituencies including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Coptic Orthodox Church, in an effort to build political alliances. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
