CAIRO - Dissidents from the formerly outlawed Muslim Brotherhood celebrated this week as the Higher Administrative Court announced the birth of their party, Al-Wasat (The Centre), after a legal battle lasting more than 12 years. The court ruling comes days after the eruption of the youth revolution on January 25, after a very long legal battle, in which the long-ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) did everything possible to prevent Al-Wasat seeing the light of day. The courtroom erupted with joy and the founders of Al-Wasat, led by the party's chairman, Abul Ela Madhi, hugged each other, as the Chief Judge made his announcement. Soon, they were receiving endless mobile phone calls from well-wishers, who were unable to witness the historic moment in court. Madhi has rebelled against the Brotherhood, who rejected his attempts to tone down their tough line on the Sharia (Islamic Law). Determined to project a new image for Islam, he decided to form his own party, calling it Al-Wasat to win the heart of Mubarak's regime and the NDP. However, the founder's religious background and his former relationship with the fundamentalist group (the biggest religious organisation in the Arab world) didn't dispell the suspicions of the former regime. Nor did the Administrative Court appreciate Madhi's attempts to participate in political life. Celebrating his hard-won victory, Madhi declared emphatically that Copts are welcome to join the new party. “The door of Al-Wasat is open to both Muslims and Copts,” Madhi told the press, stressing that his party won't differentiate between Muslims and Copts, or men and women. “Our party condemns racial, sexual and religious discrimination in Muslim society,” the party's founder, who sports a beard, declared. “We guarantee equality.” In coaxing his former colleagues in the Muslim Brotherhood to disown their grandmotherly organisation and join his party, Madhi stressed the new members should not belong to other parties. His former leaders in the Muslim Brotherhood have called upon their members to ignore his invitation. Orders and advice given by the organisation's General Guide are biding and irrevocable. An influential Brotherhood member, speaking to the press on condition of anonymity, warned that any members accepting Madhi's invitation would be kicked out forever, adding that the Brotherhood are planning to form their own political party very soon. The disclosure was booed by Mukhtar Nuh, who abandoned the organisation years ago, after falling out with senior Brotherhood officials. Nuh denies that the Brotherhood are telling the truth when they claim that they will become legally involved in politics. He also denies that the influential Brotherhood leaders are enthusiastic about making crucial amendments to their ideology and agenda. Referring to the organisation's history of underground activity, Nuh must have insulted the organisation by implying that it is not qualified to act in the daylight (the political stree)]. “It will be impossible for the Muslim Brotherhood to change its spots and metamorphose into a political party,” he argues.
