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The Salafists came in 2nd in the Egyptian elections. They would like to see the introduction of hardline Sharia, including the stoning of adulterers and cutting off the hands of thieves. |
Saudi Arabia and Qatar spent tens of millions of dollars on the Egyptian elections to ensure a big win for the Muslim Brotherhood
- Islamists say 5,000 years of Egyptian history should be covered with a layer of chalk
- Pharaonic street names would be Islamicized.
- A ban on alcohol, even for Egyptian Christians.
The ultra-Islamist Salafist Al-Nour Party, or "Party of Light," came in second place in the first round of Egypt's parliamentary elections, just behind the Muslim Brotherhood. The two groups captured about 60 percent of those seats assigned on the basis of candidate lists assembled by the parties.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar spent tens of millions of dollars on the Egyptian elections last week to ensure a big win for the Muslim Brotherhood, according to LIGNET.com.
The Muslim Brotherhood reportedly used the funds to host rallies and other events to drum up support and to lure voters to the polls with sugar and cooking oil. Saudi leaders invested the money out of a fear that the uprising in Egypt could empower both secular liberal and Salafi radical Islamist movements that could affect stability in Saudi Arabia.
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| Sexually repressed and obviously insane Islamists want to cover up this woman and ban the bikini in Egypt. |
The Al-Nour Party was formed in the spring as a melting pot of various conservative and formerly militant groups. Its members were not exactly known for their democratic ambitions, but rather for their close ties to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since the establishment of the "Party of Light," more than $100 million (€75 million) in campaign funds have allegedly made their way from the oil-rich, Wahhabite kingdom to the banks of the Nile, reports Spiegel On-Line.
Islamist election wins in the region
The election result confirms a clear trend, namely that wherever free elections have taken place in the Islamic Middle East in recent years, the religious parties have won: in the Gaza Strip in 2006, in Iraq in 2010, and in Turkey, Tunisia and Morocco in 2011.
The Salafists had agitated against the Copts and boycotted the Egyptian revolution, on the grounds that it was infiltrated with "whores and Zionists." And it was also the Salafists who, until now, had rejected free elections as "un-Islamic." And now they are coming into power as democrats?
During the campaign, leading members of the Al-Nour Party seemed as if they came from a different era; it was a sharp contrast to Egypt's liberal tradition. For instance, when party spokesman Abdul Munaim al-Shahat appeared on a TV talk show, he insisted that a divider be set up between himself and a female guest. In his most recent demand, he calls upon Egyptians to "destroy the temples!"
Video: Churches Burned in Egypt
He wants Egypt to finally put an end to the "idolatrous worship" of its pharaonic heritage. If Shahat had his way, sculptures, statues and portraits spanning 5,000 years of Egyptian history would be covered with a layer of chalk, and pharaonic street names would be Islamicized.
Another member of the party leadership is calling for a ban on alcohol, even for Christians and foreigners, who can drink alcohol without punishment in most Gulf countries. He also wants to close beaches where Western women show too much skin and ban the wearing of bikinis.
Egyptians are waiting anxiously to see how the powerful Muslim Brothers and their "Freedom and Justice Party" will position themselves. Will they distance themselves from the Salafists and seek an alliance with liberal forces? Or will they join the Salafists to create an orthodox Islamic Egypt?
For more on this story
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Democracy is coming to Egypt. But the results may not be to the West's liking. In addition to the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist party al-Nour also has significant support. They would like to see a return to the world of the Prophet Muhammad. |
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