CAIRO - An Egyptian Muslim scholar, who heads the International Union for Muslim Scholars, has urged Egyptians to vote for 'good, useful' candidates in next week's parliamentary elections, adding that he regretted the participation of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. "I hoped the Brothers would boycott the elections just like some other political powers. However, since they have decided to participate, I hope they will communicate with the people easily," Sheikh Youssef el- Qaradawi told the German Press Agency (DPA) in an e-mailed interview. The Doha-based cleric added that: “although the Brotherhood had a big minority in the outgoing Parliament, they had achieved nothing tangible, because the National Democratic Party (NDP) has the majority”. El-Qaradawi, who holds a Qatari nationality, urges Egyptians who have the right to vote to select candidates who can help reform the country. "It's very important for everyone to vote. It's a duty," he said. The Muslim Brotherhood, banned since 1954, have decided to take part in the legislative elections, despite calls by the former chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, to boycott them over possible rigging. The group are fielding 130 candidates, who will run as independents to skirt the six-decade ban. El-Qaradawi is best known for his bold fatwas (religious edicts) and his programme ‘Shariah and Life', broadcast on the Qatari satellite TV Al-Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 40 million worldwide. Meanwhile, he criticised an al-Qaeda offshoot, which attacked a church in Iraq, killing dozens. "This abominable act is against Allah and Islam, which prohibits bloodshed," the cleric told the DPA. However, he also called on the Egyptian Government to deal wisely with allegations that Christians in Egypt have been put under pressure and are suffering from a lot of restrictions. "Muslim activists are more restricted than Coptic ones in Egypt," el-Qaradawi said. The Egyptian cleric, who has been living in Qatar since the 1980s, added that the Egyptian authorities should also have full power over churches, which have become a 'state inside a state'. "This situation could lead to sectarianism," he said.
