CAIRO - Members of Jama'a Islamiya – deemed to be Egypt's most fundamental Islamist organisation – looked defiant and insistent, a few hours after a special judicial committee refused to license their new Development and Construction Party. The judicial committee said they have denied Jama'a Islamiya a licence for its party because of its hard-line stance on the punitive measures in Islamic Law. Jama'a Islamiya, however, has described the decision of the committee as "politicised", adding that they are going to take legal proceedings against the committee for violating the Constitution by denying the party a licence, although it has granted licences to other Islamist and Salafist parties. "The programme of our party is based on the Egyptian Constitution, which says the Sharia [Islamic Law] is the source of legislation here," said Tareq el-Zomor, a senior Jama'a Islamiya member who spent 30 years in jail for his role in the assassination of president Anwar el-Sadat. The group propagates an ultra-strict application of Islamic laws, particularly in relation to theft and adultery. Like other Islamists, they say a thief's hands must be chopped off and adulterers must be stoned to death. Despite this big disappointment, Jama'a Islamiya says it will still field candidates in the next parliamentary elections. Its candidates might run as independents nationwide, as the party hasn't been licensed. Jama'a Islamiya is one of several Islamist and Salafist organisations that have been playing lead roles on Egypt's political stage since a popular uprising ended Mubarak's career. Having been brutally repressed for 30 years under Mubarak, these organisations see in these times of post-revolution freedom the chance to impose Islamic laws on the people of Egypt, scaring some of them. Despite this, these organisations enjoy a strong following in the street and more so in the countryside, where they offer the poor financial assistance and free medical care. "There is universal agreement among the Islamist powers on the need to apply Islamic laws here. This is why we will appeal the decision of the committee and struggle to get a licence for our party," Zomor told the local media.
