Opposition forces are invited to attend an Islamist-led mass protest on Friday that would call for an end to political violence, Jamaa al-Islamiya leader Tarek al-Zomor said in a Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr interview Tuesday.
The invitation came as at least 58 have been killed and dozens injured in violence between security forces and protesters against President Mohamed Morsy’s rule since the second anniversary of the January 2011 revolution.
Zomor, who is also head of the Construction and Development Party's politburo, added that Jama'a Islamiya and other Islamist groups are not seeking to flex their muscles through the planned demonstration.
Islamists are representing the Egyptian nation through the protest, Zomor said, stressing that the Egyptian revolution has to maintain its peaceful course.
Zomor said that the invitation was extended to all opposition forces, including the main, secular-leaning opposition group, the National Salvation Front.
Zomor, who had been sentenced to life in prison for involvement in the 1981 assassination of former President Anwar al-Sadat, voiced his and his party’s strong rejection of a recent fatwa by Islamic preacher Mahmoud Shaaban which permitted the killing of President Mohamed Morsy's political opponents. The fatwa sparked a major outcry.
“It is totally unacceptable to rely on killing as means for expression inside the Egyptian society, and political opponents are not infidels,” Zomor said.
However, he added that other politicians aside from Shabaan should also be investigated for their statements. “I am asking the prosecutor general, why did you only give attention to the complaints against Shaaban and ignore those against other politicians?" he asked.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
