CAIRO: Members of the Ansar al-Sunna Association declared on Tuesday they will join the upcoming parliamentary race. Ansar al-Sunna is widely known in Egypt for its Salafi orientation. Elections are scheduled to take place in September. Salafi preacher and Ansar al-Sunna member Sheikh Mohamed Hassan declared that the association is ready to form a political party, reports online newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Sheikh Hassan added that every Egyptian should enjoy the freedom to express his ideas. This candidacy should not scare Egyptians, he added, as the message of Islam is one of tolerance, and his main concern will be to “remain at the service of Allah and my country.” Shaikh Hassan repeatedly incited young Egyptians to avoid “wasting their life in trivial things” and develop the Ummah (Muslim Society) following the Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Salafis recently gained national headlines following the destruction of several Sufi shrines near Egyptian northern cities including Alexandria, a Salafist stronghold, and Qalubiya. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) promptly condemned the attacks as any act endangering the unity of Muslims and destroying public propriety would contradict the spirit of the January 25 revolution. Wafd Party Honorary President Mostafa al-Tawil and Nasserist Party Vice-President Mohamed Abul Ela demanded the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) crackdown on Salafist organizations. “Each group thinks it has the sole right to talk on behalf of Islam,” said Abul Ela. “They display their might in order to impose their views on others.” Head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, declared that the rise of Salafism should be blamed on the unsubstantial role played by the moderate Islamic institution of Al-Azhar. Salafists believe in a strictly literal interpretation of the Qur'an. On this basis, Ansar al-Sunna's official credo is that no woman or Christian should be allowed to run for Presidency. This view has never been officially denied by the MB. “Egypt is a deeply religious society, and it is inevitable that Islam will have a place in our democratic political order,” said Egyptian Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa, adding that “long-suppressed Islamist groups can no longer be excluded from political life. All Egyptians have the right to participate in the creation of a new Egypt.” Ansar al-Sunna Sheikh Mahmoud Amer issued a fatwa on the association's official website while Mubarak was still in power in December 2010. The fatwa incited believers to “shed the blood” of Mohammed ElBaradei on the grounds that he incited sedition by “calling for the people to rebel,” requiring followers “kill him if he does not stop.” ElBaradei was later attacked during the March 19 Constitutional Referendum that saw Muslim, Christian and secular representatives come to a sharp confrontation. Muslim leaders urged believers to support the constitutional amendments, as a re-draft of the constitution might bring to a new text, lacking an explicit reference to Islam as State religion and the Sharia as sacred source of jurisprudence. After official announcement that 77.2 percent of Egyptians subscribed to the referendum, Egypt's Salafi Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Yaqoub said that “religion won.” Experts from Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies said that “the future of democracy in Egypt will be at risk if religious groups continue to engage in politics along sectarian lines,” reported al-Masry al-Youm. “What happened before the referendum deepens the gap between Egyptians by evoking religion at the expense of political and ethical responsibility toward society,” declared Nabil Abdel Fattah from the same center. BM
