Archive for Nour Party

Salafi Dawah: Nour Party remains sole representative

by admin
December 31st, 2012

The Nour Party remains the sole political arm of the Salafi Dawah, a statement by the group comprising leading Salafi scholars said on Monday, urging followers to join and provide financial support to the party which saw a wave of defections by leading figures last week.

“It is unimaginable that one group would provide support to more than one party simultaneously or have two political arms. Nour Party is the political arm of the Salafi Daawa based on the decision by its consultancy council on 30 June 2011," the statement said.

The statement urged followers of the Salafi political current to financially support the party during the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Earlier this month, party chairman Emad Abdel Ghafour announced his resignation and his plans to establish Watan Party, which he said would be the largest gathering of Islamist and nationalist groups. News reports said former presidential runner and ultraconservative Salafi cleric Hazem Salah Abu Ismail would chair the new entity.

Independent daily al-Shorouk said 150 Nour Party officials in 23 governorates resigned following a meeting last Tuesday. The quitting members will announce details for establishing Watan Party in a press conference tomorrow, Tuesday.
 

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New Salafi party to be announced Tuesday

by admin
December 29th, 2012

Former spokesperson of Salafi-oriented Nour Party Yousry Hammad revealed that the establishment of the new Watan party will be announced on Tuesday at al-Azhar University.

In a note posted on his Facebook page on Saturday, Hammad wrote that at the third meeting of the party's founders it was agreed that Emad Abdel Ghafoor would represent them.

The contact details of those responsible for collecting signatures in different governorates to establish the party will be announced shortly.

Emad Abdel Ghafour, Nour Party head and Assistant to the President, announced his resignation from the party this morning, saying that he is now “in the process of establishing and founding Watan Party.”

Abdel Ghafour described it as “the biggest party combining all spectrums of Islamic and national forces in Egypt.”

About 150 leading members of the Nour Party, representing 23 governorates, have submitted their resignation from the party over the past week.

Hammad said the reason Abdel Ghafour resigned from the Nour Party was “the interventions of some members of the Salafi Front in party affairs.”

He revealed that a number of the party’s founders have been meeting with other Salafi figures to discuss with them the aim of creating the Watan Party.

The new party, Hammad said, is open to all those who will sincerely contribute to the building of this country.

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PM meets with Brotherhood, Salafi figures ahead of Cabinet reshuffle

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December 28th, 2012

Prime Minister Hesham Qandil has begun consultations regarding the forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle. Eight new ministers are expected to be appointed following the successive resignation of several members of the Cabinet.

The reshuffle will most likely include the ministries of transport, local development, supply, electricity, petrol, communications, finance and legal affairs, a high-level Cabinet source told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Qandil is to submit his nominations to President Mohamed Morsy for approval in the coming week. Nominations are expected to include members of the Freedom and Justice Party, and the Muslim Brotherhood’s guidance bureau is holding discussions on this matter.

A Brotherhood source said the group almost unanimously agreed to nominate Abdallah Shehata, the head of the FJP’s economic committee, as finance minister. Nour Party Secretary General Galal al-Morrah and Nour Party deputy head Sayed Mostafa are both also expected to receive nominations to the Cabinet. The three potential candidates all met with Qandil on Thursday.

Morrah told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he met with Qandil and Mostafa to discuss the current political and economic situation, as well as the nominations for the Cabinet. The Nour Party has nominated “a large number of its members to the new Cabinet, and it is in touch with the guidance bureau of the Brotherhood on this issue,” he added.

Several party leaders have objected to Qandil staying on as prime minister in the face of Egypt’s worsening economic crisis, and have called on Morsy to replace him with an expert in economics.

The Qandil Cabinet has not provided a clear plan to address the country’s economic decline and ongoing labor unrest, and has resorted to the former regime’s methods of borrowing domestically and internationally as a quick fix for cash flow problems, said Constitution Party deputy head Ahmed al-Bora’ei.

Hussein Zayed, the Shura Council MP for the Wasat Party, issued a press release on Thursday saying the party was shocked that Qandil had been entrusted with forming a new Cabinet.

The Wasat Party has objected to Qandil’s appointment as prime minister since the first day, the statement added, claiming that he was a non-politicized figure unfit for the position. Qandil’s Cabinet failed miserably in managing the country and was virtually absent during the violent political turmoil of the past two months, Zayed claimed.

Free Egyptians Party leader Mahmoud al-Alayly said the party had not received any communication on the nomination of members for the Cabinet reshuffle, but that the party would refuse any offers of positions in the Cabinet.

The president's insistence on asking Qandil to reshuffle the Cabinet is a sign of stubbornness against opposition forces, which demanded the dismissal of the Cabinet for its lack of political or economic vision, he added.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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150 Salafi Nour Party members resign

by admin
December 26th, 2012

One hundred and fifty members of the Salafi Nour Party from 23 governorates submitted their resignation from the party following a meeting on Tuesday.

“We decided to resign from the party, and we wish it success. We will form a new political entity, which will be announced soon,” former party spokesperson Mohamed Nour told state-run news agency MENA.

Nour attributed the resignations to differences with the political views the party has adopted in the recent period.

Party head Emad Abdel Ghafour has not yet resigned, Nour said, and is still considering the situation.

Asked if the withdrawals from the party would mean separation from the Salafi Dawah as well, Nour said that both continuing and resigning members follow Salafi thought, and the differences only concern political views and administration.

Regarding reports that former presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, who is currently forming his own political party, would be involved with the “new political entity,” Nour said all figures faithful to the new movement’s thought could join, of course including Abu Ismail.  

Nour added that the party welcomes everyone, including non-Salafis, as long as they believe Islamic Sharia should be the basic of governance. He said the country needs politicians who can serve without political conflicts.

Most of the Nour Party figures who quit were members of the now-dissolved People’s Assembly or the Shura Council.

Edited translation from MENA

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Nour Party leader to resign Tuesday, forms alliance with Abu Ismail

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December 24th, 2012

A leading figure in the Salafi Dawah group said Monday that Emad Abdel Ghafour, head of the Salafi Nour Party, and the Salafi preacher Hazem Salah Abu Ismail agreed to form a new political alliance.

Sources from the party told Al-Masry Al-Youm Sunday that Abdel Ghafour, spokespeople Yousry Hammad and Mohamed Nour and other party leaders plan to resign Tuesday.

Hisham Abul Nasr, head of the Salafi Dawah branch in Giza, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the new alliance will be named “Al-Watan,” and will be headed by Abu Ismail with Abdel Ghafour as his first deputy.

Abdel Ghafour and 95 percent of the party youths in greater Cairo are resigning on Tuesday to join the new party, Abul Nasr added.

He said the new alliance is negotiating with all Islamist parties and forces to join and face liberal parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Ayman Elias of Abu Ismail’s campaign said the new party is not responsible for any divisions within the Nour Party. “They were already divided,” he said.

Nour Party Vice President Sayed Mostafa said no member of the party’s supreme committee expressed his wish to replace Abdel Ghafour.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
 

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FJP: Finance Ministry policies embarrass the govt.

by admin
December 20th, 2012

The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) sharply attacked the Finance Ministry for pursuing policies that it says are harmful to the presidency.

The ministry insists on adopting policies that are against what political forces recommend, said Mohamed Gouda, the vice chairman of the FJP’s economic committee. He added that its uninformed decisions embarrass the government.

“It has passed the Islamic Crediting Bill, although the FJP and Nour Party objected to it,” he said.

The Cabinet passed the bill on Wednesday without presenting it to the legislative authorities.

“The FJP had a better Islamic crediting proposal that was devised by experts from the Islamic world,” Gouda said.  “We expect the draft constitution would be approved in the referendum … Then the legislative authority will move to the Shura Council, to which we will present our proposal.”

A senior Finance Ministry official said the bill was passed after a being discussed in a community dialogue. “We want the bill to be controlled by the government, not the private sector,” the source said. “What political parties suggest is not binding for us.”

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Salafis to hold ‘Sharia First’ protest Monday at Media Production City

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December 10th, 2012

Multiple Salafi movements have announced mass demonstrations Monday outside Media Production City, under the title of “Sharia First,” to demand the dismissal of talk show hosts they consider “tools for burning the country.”

Supporters of former Salafi presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, the Salafi Front, the Nour Party and the Coalition of Sharia Students issued a joint statement calling for a boycott of certain television channels and newspapers for their policies, which they say are against Islamists.

The statement said it expects millions to join the protests.

The statement singled out Dream TV for its “10 pm” talk show, hosted by Wael al-Ibrashy, and “Dream Morning” with Jehan Mansour; ON TV for its programs “Last Words” with Yousry Fouda and “ON Morning” with Youssef al-Husseiny; CBC for “Here is the Capital” with Lamis al-Hadidy; Orbit for “Cairo Today” with Amr Adib; and Cairo and the People channel for “This is Cairo” with Ibrahim Eissa.

The protesters also plan to boycott the newspaper Al-Sabah, headed by Wael al-Ibrashy; Al-Tahrir, headed by Ibrahim Eissa; and Al-Fagr, headed by Adel Hammouda.

Meanwhile, Salafis have continued their protest outside Media Production City for the third day in a row. They have been joined by additional protesters, who arrived from five governorates in 150 buses and set up tents in the public park.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Brotherhood delays Tuesday protest

by admin
November 26th, 2012

The Muslim Brotherhood has decided to postpone a mass protest it had called for Tuesday in Cairo in the interest of preventing violence, an official from the Islamist group's Freedom and Justice Party said.

Parties opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsy, who was propelled to power by the group, have called a protest in Tahrir Square on Tuesday to demonstrate against a decree issued by Morsy last week.

The Nour Party, a more hardline Islamist party that has come out in support of the Morsy decree, had agreed with the Brotherhood on the postponement, a spokesperson for the party said.

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Nour Party holds rallies to boost popularity

by admin
November 6th, 2012

The Salafi Dawah led a number of rallies featuring notable Salafi preachers across Egypt seeking to boost the Nour Party’s popularity ahead of the parliamentary elections.  

A source close to the Salafi Dawah said the preachers, including Yasser Borhamy, Saeed Abdel Azeem, Ahmed Fareed, and Ahmed Abu Hotaiba, decided to participate in the rallies in different governorates to restore the party’s reputation after the actions of some former MPs and internal disputes affected it.

Salafi Dawah preachers would also lead public conferences on the application of Sharia law, emphasizing the Nour Party’s commitment to including Sharia in the new constitution as well as its stance on women’s rights.

Nour Party supreme body member Tarek al-Sehry said the party has made several decisions including ordering former People’s Assembly members and current Shura Council members to communicate with citizens and attempt to solve their problems.

He added that the Nour Party coordinates with the Salafi Dawah to hold rallies, stressing that the party continues to be popular, which would be strongly reflected in the parliamentary elections.

Sheikh Hosny al-Masry, a member of the board of directors of the Salafi Dawah, said the organization prepared a program of events nationwide to counter political forces who oppose the inclusion of Sharia in the constitution.

The Nour Party has a clear position rejecting both the first and the second drafts of the constitution because they do not include what had been agreed upon with regard to the application of Sharia, Masry said.  

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Salafi leader accuses Brotherhood of hindering the application of Sharia

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November 6th, 2012

A high-profile spokesperson for the Salafi Dawah, the parent organization of the Nour Party, accused the Muslim Brotherhood of opposing the explicit stipulation of Sharia as the main source of legislation in the constitution at a seminar Tuesday.

Abdel Moneim al-Shahat stressed that the organization will not remain silent towards political groups in the Constituent Assembly that he said have been struggling to prevent the application of Islamic Law in the constitution during a seminar at a students hostel in Smouha, Alexandria.

Article 2 of the 1971 constitution, which remains unchanged in the draft of the new constitution issued in October, stipulates that the principles of Sharia are the main source of legislation. The article has been the subject of heated debate over the drafting process, with Salafis wanting the word “principles” omitted. Secular groups and the Brotherhood wish to keep the original phrasing.

Salafis had called for staging protests on 9 November to push for the adoption of wording in Article 2 that clearly calls for Sharia.

Shahat rejected the Brotherhood’s suggestions to apply Sharia gradually. He said the organization will lobby all Muslims who are protective of their faith to press for that demand.

He stressed that Salafis should not boycott the next parliamentary elections.

“Despite the negative aspects of Salafi representation in the last Parliament, it was that representation that allowed them to be present at the Constituent Assembly and press for Sharia,” he said.

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