Salafi Nour Party MPs and scholars started holding seminars Wednesday evening in North Sinai governorate for four days in an effort to combat "Takfiri" ideology, which authorities say is behind the violent incidents the governorate has recently witnessed.
Followers of the"Takfiri" ideology generally condone violence as a way to achieve political goals and condemn other Muslims who do not share their strict interpretation of Islam.
State-run news agency MENA said that the meetings and discussions aim to explaining the true teachings of Islam. The Salafi delegation mainly represents the Nour Party’s Shura Council bloc.
The first meeting was held last night at Abu Bakr al-Seddeq Mosque in the Fawakhria neighborhood of Arish. Sheikh Yasser al-Borhamy, the deputy leader of the Salafi Dawah, and Abdel Moneim al-Shahat, the group's spokesperson, were among the attendees, along with tribal chiefs and local citizens.
MENA quoted members of the delegation as saying that the group would visit several parts of the governorate and the border areas, as well as meeting with security leadership. They will call on North Sinai residents to support military operations targeting extremism in the area.
Since the January 2011 uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak, observers have warned of the increasing presence of Islamist extremists in Sinai.
An attack on an army checkpoint in the city of Rafah earlier this month, which killed 16 Egyptian soldiers, was blamed on Islamist militant groups. One week after the attack, Nour Party leader Emad Abdel Ghafour said his party was willing to combat extremist ideology in the area.
The Muslim Brotherhood had announced a similar initiative on Thursday, unveiling plans to communicate with Sinai tribesmen the importance of combating Takfiri ideology throughout the region.
