Islamist movements have the chance to write the constitution without interference from liberals who withdrew from the constituent assembly in the hopes of preventing the country from stabilizing or drafting a constitution that is in line with the nation's identity, said Assem Abdel Meguid, a member of the Shura Council from Jama'a al-Islamiya's Construction and Development Party. He told Al-Masry Al-Youm that liberals stand in the way of stability and, in particular, in the way of Islamists, as they want to form the majority in the constituent assembly and in Parliament even though they have no popularity with the general public. Abdel Meguid said the Islamists would successfully write a balanced constitution that will be welcomed by the public in the referendum. He added that Islamists are not exclusionary, as secularists make them out to be in order to make the public fear them. He explained that while writing the new constitution, the Islamists will keep in mind all the components of Egyptian society and will maintain the country's identity. He added that the Egyptian public will then realize “the lies of those who wish to distort the image of Islamists.” Abdel Meguid said that Islamists should take over the now vacant seats in the constituent assembly. He said the withdrawal of some constituent assembly members was an attempt to put pressure on the Islamists. He called on Islamists “not to respond to these trends that are trying to impose a fait accompli.” Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
