 A senior figure in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood organisation has argued against non-Muslims holding leadership positions in Egypt, including the presidency.
| Anybody got a good definition of the word "oppression"? |
Mohamed Habib, the first deputy of the Brotherhood's Supreme Guide, said that "if we are to apply the Islamic rule which says that non-Muslims have no guardianship over Muslims, then a Christian may not be president".
| That applies everywhere, of course. As soon as a Muslim shows up, y'gotta put him in charge... |
Habib was talking to reporters at the group's headquarters in Manial al-Roda on Monday. In a speech outlining the banned but tolerated group's preliminary agenda for the next parliament, Habib said that the rule is the "only exception" regarding restrictions for non-Muslims. Otherwise, they share the same "rights and duties of Muslims".
| Right. We've seen that applied in all Muslim countries, too. |
But according to Tarek El-Bishri, a respected Islamist intellectual and former judge, the Brotherhood's interpretation of non-Muslim guardianship is meaningless in the modern age.
| He's making the assumption that Egypt is in the modern age. |
Constitutions and laws - rather than one individual as was the case in medieval times - govern guardianship today "and thus it doesn't matter if the president is Muslim or Christian", el-Bishri told Aljazeera.net
| It matters to the Muslim Brotherhood, and they'll probably end up in charge in Egypt eventually. |
The Coptic Christian community comprises approximately 10% of Egypt's population of 72 million. The Brotherhood's gains in the ongoing three-stage parliamentary elections – 76 seats - have alarmed Coptic and secular groups in Egypt despite repeated attempts by the group's leaders to allay their fears.
| Yeah. We can see how they're going out of their way to allay their fears. |
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