Al-Nour Party welcomes the cancellation of controversial article 219 in the 2012 constitution in exchange for amending article 2, the party's representative within the 50-member constituent assembly tasked with amending the constitution, Bassam Zarqa, said. Speaking to private satellite channel Al-Hayah, Zarqa said that in such a case, article 2 would be amended to state that the Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation. In the 2012 constitution, article 2 stated that the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation. Article 219 detailed what was meant by the term "principles of Islamic Sharia," garnering widespread criticism from liberal and secular movements for it lacks clarity and would result in several interpretations. Zarqa told Al-Hayah channel that the Al-Nour Party agrees to hold an independent referendum on article 2. "It's either we want Islamic Sharia or we don't," Zarqa said. In a statement released on Monday on behalf of the party, by Salah Abdel Maaboud, member of the party's presidential council, Abdel Maaboud implied that anything was possible should the articles preserving the Islamic identity be violated during the drafting of the amendments. "The party's participation in the constituent assembly is to preserve the articles addressing the Islamic identity," Abdel Maaboud said. "It is also to achieve a balance between the three state authorities, achieve social justice and preserve human rights." The Al-Nour Party only announced it would participate in the Constituent Assembly on Sunday, during the assembly's first session. Party chairman Younes Makhyoun told state-run Al-Ahram that "this decision came after the party felt the weight of the responsibility of defending the gains of 25 January Revolution." The party was hesitant during the past week regarding its participation in the assembly's meetings.
