Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Ahmad Sa‘d, in this article, reflects on some of the religious slogans repeated during the period of elections. Some examples are "Islam is the only solution" and "the Muslim's voice for the Muslim, and the Copt's voice for the Copt." In spite of the fact that the elections law prohibits the use of any religious slogans during the elections, some nominees resort to using them to deceive the electors and pull their legs away from their electoral programs. In this article, October seeks to ask the opinion of experts in the fields of law, rights, and men of religion regarding the seriousness of such political games.

 

Regarding the danger of using such religious slogans on Egyptian social unity, the Ex-Head of the Court of Cassation, As‘ad Sīdhum, stresses that the manipulation of these slogans with the intention of creating hatred, leads to sectarian issues. He refutes all claims saying that these slogans align with the second article in the constitution. He emphasizes that these are not constitutional because the constitution expressively provides for freedom of belief. Similarly, Professor ‘Abd al-Mun‘im Mohammad Ibrāhīm, manager of the Political Studies and Research Centre, highlights that the law incriminates the manipulation of any religious slogans, so it is impossible for any one to justify them. This is especially true because there are neither parties based on religious bases nor constitutional religious groups.

 

As for the point of view from men of religion, Priest Rif‘at Fikrī stresses that electoral propaganda inside houses of worship is unacceptable. The Church refuses any kind of mingling between religion and politics. The role of the Church is to enlighten people and call them to positive participation in political life. He refutes any of the religious slogans, either Islamic or Christian, because he emphasizes that these are sectarian and should be put to an end. The spokesman of the Anglican Church, Ikrām Lam‘ī, says that people should base their votes according to the program and the services that will be offered by the nominee as an enlightened and political man, rather than according to his religious beliefs. 

 

Rightful experts agree with the same opinion. The Head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, Hāfiz Abū Si‘dah, says that using religious slogans contradicts the principles of elections, in which the competition between nominees should be based on electoral programs rather than religious slogans. Hence, manipulators should be punished for their crime. Finally, Yāssir ‘Abd al-‘Azīz, a media expert, stresses that those who resort to manipulating religious slogans lack any real political program or any thing to tell about the different social problems, like water, roads, education, etc. Hence, religious slogans are manipulated to distract the masses.