CAIRO: Egypt's Political Parties' Affairs Committee rejected on Monday a request from the Islamist group Gama'a Islamiyya to form a political party, arguing its proposal was based on “religious grounds in violation of the law,” the state-owned MENA news agency reported. Gama'a Islamiyya was a leading violent force in the 1990s, taking credit for the Luxor massacre that killed dozens of tourists, mainly Japanese, in 1997. The group has since renounced violence and following the January ousting of President Hosni Mubarak, has become more integrated in the social and political dealings in the country. It was also rejected because it advocates a strict interpretation and implementation of Islamic law, known in Arabic as “hudoud,” under which thieves can be punished by cutting off their hands and murderers can face beheading. The group's leader Abdel-Akher Hamad, said the ruling was unjustified. “We were shocked,” he said, adding that their calls for Sharia law are not any different than the Egyptian constitution, which has as the basis for all law in the country, the Islamic law. Following President Hosni Mubarak's ousting on February 11, the government eased restrictions on political parties. Currently, groups can form their party and begin work immediately. The governmental committee then has 30 days to cancel the party, which it did with Gama'a Islamiyya. Earlier this summer, the Muslim Brotherhood and a leading Salafist group established their own respective political parties, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) and the Nour Party. Both groups went around the religious stipulations by avoiding references in their party platforms. Gamal Hamid, a political parties expert in Cairo currently researching political representation, said that Gama'a Islamiyya needed to be more creative when going into the party realm. “They should have learned from the Brotherhood and the other Salafists out there that you can't just say certain things without having the consequences come back,” he began. “The party platform should have read as a conservative manifesto and not one where God and religion are key components. It was doomed to be cancelled.” The barring of the political party comes as a controversial party was established by a former leader of Mubarak's National Democratic party has approval of the committee and formed a party named “Unity.” Hossam Badrawi, the now deposed National Democratic Party (NDP) secretary general, is among the party's founders. Activists have been calling on the government to ensure that former party officials are not allowed back into the political scene ahead of November elections. BM
