Archive for Younis Makhyoun

Constituent Assembly agrees on Article 2 wording

by admin
November 4th, 2012

Younis Makhyoun, a member of the Constituent Assembly, said on Sunday that representatives of the Islamist current and civilian powers have finally agreed on the phrasing of the much-debated Article 2 of the constitution.

The article as currently agreed upon will read, “The principles of Islamic Sharia are the main sources of legislation,” with an additional article, Article 221, defining principles as “general evidence and fundamental and jurisprudential rules and their sources in the well-recognized schools of the Sunnis and the community.”

Article 2 was the subject of heated debate over the past weeks, with Salafis wanting the word “principles” omitted and replaced with “Islamic Sharia” and civilian powers and the Brotherhood wishing to keep the phrasing in the 1971 constitution as it is.

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

Makhyoun told the press that the two articles were approved by political powers, Al-Azhar and the Coptic Church.

The committee responsible for the document’s phrasing has finished reviewing the chapter on the components of the state and 65 articles in the chapter on rights and freedoms.

Press reports said that the Constituent Assembly is expected to issue a second draft of the constitution soon.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Constituent Assembly to release final draft constitution within three weeks

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October 15th, 2012

The final draft of the constitution is set to be put up for public debate within three weeks, Constituent Assembly member Bassam al-Zarqa said.

“I prefer to call it heralds of a constitution rather than final draft,” Zarqa said.

He explained that the assembly is holding a community dialogue to reach consensus on all articles and avoid polarization during the referendum.

Assembly member Younis Makhyoun said the referendum would take place within two months.

“I hope at least 90 percent agree on [the constitution] in the referendum,” he said.

Meanwhile, State Litigation Authority representatives accused assembly Chairman Hossam Gheriany of intransigence for failing to agree on their status in the chapter on the judiciary, having previously met with him for two hours to discuss the matter.

“Gheriany omitted us from the chapter,” said Mohamed Taha, head of the State Litigation Club. “We demand … a civil prosecution.”

He also said Gheriany does not consider the authority as a judicial body, “but the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled out his opinion in a landmark ruling.”

Assembly adviser Hamdy Qandil said the assembly recommended the abolition of the High Endowments Authority while keeping the National Specialized Councils, citing similar existing bodies.

‘The problem with the councils is that their recommendations are not implemented by the competent authorities,” he said.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Salafi Dawah vice president says IMF loan permissible in Islam

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August 27th, 2012

The vice president of the Salafi Dawah group, Yasser Borhamy, said Sunday the interest on the loan Egypt is set to receive from the International Monetary Fund does not involve usury, a practice prohibited in Islam.

In a fatwa he made that was published on Sawt al-Salaf website, Borhamy said that since the interest on the loan is only 1.1 percent, paid in the form of administrative fees, the loan could be considered a grant.

Usurious loans have higher interest rates that reach up to 20 percent, he said.

Borhamy said that in modern times, loans given to countres "are handled by huge financial institutions that examine the conditions of the borrowing country, its needs to reform the economy, its ability to pay off the loan and the time frame it needs for that, as well as the degree of corruption there."

He added that if one such institution gave the country a loan at an interest rate of 2 percent, then this is not considered usury.

Borhamy called for studying the conditions for the loan from an economic perspective and assessing whether it achieves the interests of the country, adding that such actions were the role of the government and the president in the absence of Parliament.

Yousry Hammad, spokesperson for the Salafi Nour Party, had previously said the interests on the IMF loan are not prohibited because they are administrative fees, and added that people should not issue uninformed fatwas.

However, other Salafis had disagreed in the past. Nour Party supreme committee member Younis Makhyoun had previous said that borrowing from the IMF or any foreign source would be considered “usury.”

“God will never bless an economy based on usury,” said Makhyoun, calling on the government to find other sources of funding.

Salafi members of the now-defunct Parliament had rejected the loan in May, saying that the interest rates qualified as usury.

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Nour Party rejects IMF loan, borrowing from abroad

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August 22nd, 2012

 

The government should not borrow from the International Monetary Fund to boost the country’s cash reserve, the Salafi Nour Party stated on Wednesday.

 “Borrowing from abroad is usury,” said Younis Makhyoun, a member of the party’s supreme committee. “God will never bless an economy based on usury.”

Mahkyoun called on Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to find other ways to raise funds instead of “allowing foreigners to interfere in our affairs.”

The government should reduce spending, apply an austerity policy, set a maximum wage, apply Islamic regultations to stock exchange speculations and repatriate funds siphoned abroad, Makhyoun added.

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Nour Party rejects IMF loan, borrowing from abroad

by admin
August 22nd, 2012

 

The government should not borrow from the International Monetary Fund to boost the country’s cash reserve, the Salafi Nour Party stated on Wednesday.

 “Borrowing from abroad is usury,” said Younis Makhyoun, a member of the party’s supreme committee. “God will never bless an economy based on usury.”

Mahkyoun called on Prime Minister Hesham Qandil to find other ways to raise funds instead of “allowing foreigners to interfere in our affairs.”

The government should reduce spending, apply an austerity policy, set a maximum wage, apply Islamic regultations to stock exchange speculations and repatriate funds siphoned abroad, Makhyoun added.

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Nour Party to form national alliance to monitor Cabinet’s performance

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August 5th, 2012

 

The Nour Party is forming a political alliance to monitor the performance of Prime Minister Hesham  Qandil’s new Cabinet, according to party members.

Nour Party member Younis Makhyoun said the party is in talks with a number of political parties over the formation of a “national front” that will defend the country’s interests and monitor the cabinet’s performance.

Talks began Saturday, he said, and the party will hold a press conference to reveal more details after the alliances are finalized.

Freedom and Justice Party member Mohamed Gamal Heshmat said that any authority or party has the right to monitor the cabinet’s performance.  He said the Nour Party plans to keep tabs on the Cabinet’s performance, including the ministries led by Brotherhood members.

However, the Salafi group Jama’a al-Islamiyah refused to join the alliance, expressing support for Qandil’s cabinet.

Tarek al-Zomor, the group’s spokesperson, said they will not get involved in alliances to oppose Qandil’s Cabinet.

“We support the Cabinet, despite our reservations over it,” Zomor told Al-Masry Al-Youm, adding that they are confident that the new government will better represent the goals of the revolution.

Khaled Saeed, spokesperson for the Salafi Front, said that the current Cabinet didn’t satisfy all political parties and that it was full of politically-motivated appointments.

Saeed added, however, that former Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri was selected as a presidential advisor because of his political and economic experience.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Nour Party boycotts new government

by admin
August 2nd, 2012

The Salafi-oriented Nour Party said it had rejected an appointment in President Mohamed Morsy's new government.

A party leader, who requested anonymity, said that Prime Minister-designate Hesham Qandil telephoned party member Khaled Allam Al-Deen Wednesday to offer him the environment minister post. The party rejected the offer, saying it was an insult from the prime minister.

The anonymous party source said Nour would hold a press conference Friday to explain its boycott of the new government.

Morsy had promised the party three ministries in the upcoming cabinet, in addition to the position of vice president, the source claimed, but all those promises evaporated when Qandil was appointed prime minister.

Nour leader Younis Makhyoun also said the party has decided to withdraw from the newly formed government, adding that the Environment Ministry is “not worthy” of the party.

Several rifts have emerged between more moderate Islamist groups and the conservative Salafis recently over the drafting of the new constitution and formation of the new government, among other issues. Along with other Salafis, the Nour Party recently announced it would break from its previous Islamist alliance in the next parliamentary elections.

Neither the government nor the Muslim Brotherhood consulted the party while choosing ministers, according to Makhyoun, who said the party has suggested many qualified candidates.

The Nour Party is not angry over the cabinet formation and wishes the new government success, he added.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Constituent Assembly may extend president’s term to 5 years

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July 31st, 2012

The Constituent Assembly is considering extending the president’s term to five years to match the terms of members of Parliament, assembly members said on Monday.

The assembly also intends to do away with the obligatory allocation of 50 percent of parliamentary seats to farmers and workers and reduce the number of members appointed to the Shura Council — as opposed to elected — to 20, as opposed to one-third of the total seats.

Also in Monday’s meeting, the assembly also agreed that a declaration of war needs the approval of both Parliament and the National Defense Council.

Forty-eight articles of the constitution have so far been completed.

“We have added nine new articles,” said assembly member Younis Makhyoun. “They pertain to alms, endowments, agriculture and the blasphemy against God and the prophets.”

Makhyoun added that 99 percent of the thousands of proposals sent to the suggestions committee requested that the Islamic Sharia be the source of legislation. “We have submitted them [the proposals] to the drafting committee,” he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the addition of an article on alms to the constitution.

Magdi Yacoub asked for articles that allow room for scientific thinking, creativity and innovation for students, and the establishment of government bodies to encourage scientific research.

Meanwhile, certain political parties and Coptic activists continue their call to dissolve the assembly, warning of that it may produce a constitution infused with the ideology of the Brotherhood and the Salafis.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Salafi-Brotherhood dispute over Article 2 of constitution escalates

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July 25th, 2012

Disagreements between the Salafi-oriented Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party have escalated over the text of the second article of Egypt's anticipated constitution.

The Nour Party has threatened to withdraw from the Constituent Assembly tasked with drafting the constitution and to rally "millions" of opponents of the anticipated document if drafters fail to amend its second article, which stipulates that the "principles" of Islamic sharia are the main source of legislation.

The party insists on removing the word "principles", making Islamic sharia the main source of legislation and thus guaranteeing a more extensive application of Islamic law, but the FJP supports keeping the article as is.

Senior Nour Party leader and constituent assembly member Younis Makhyoun told Al-Masry Al-Youm that Salafis will reject any constitution that is at odds with Sharia and maintains Article 2 in its current form.

Makhyoun said the failure to remove the word "principles" would give the chance to the Supreme Constitutional Court to interpret Sharia.

But Ali Abdel Fattah, an FJP leader, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the Brotherhood opposes any change to the article, and added that the term "principles" involves all forms of justice and integrity.

Abdel Fattah pointed out that the Supreme Constitutional Court has nothing to do with the interpretation of the article which, he said, does not require any clarification.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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Constituent Assembly proposes article criminalizing blasphemy

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July 17th, 2012

A Constituent Assembly committee approved on Tuesday a new article proposed by Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb criminalizing blasphemy.

“This article will be placed in a top section of the new constitution,” said assembly member Younis Makhyoun, a leader in the Salafi Nour Party. “

The article criminalizes blasphemy of God, the prophets, Prophet Mohamed’s wives and daughters and the rightly-guided caliphs.

Assembly member Mohamed Abdel Salam said the article also deals with recent attempts at expanding Shi’ism in Egypt.  

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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