“Our slogan in upcoming parliamentary elections will be 'Islam is the Solution',” Mohamed Saad al-Katatny, member of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement's authoritative Guidance Bureau, said on Thursday.
The declaration comes despite a prohibition by Egypt's Supreme Electoral Committee on the use of religiously-themed electoral slogans.
“The electoral committee aims to weaken our group,” al-Katatny asserted. “This slogan is political, not religious."
He went on to point to a 2007 court ruling that rejected an appeal filed by committee chairman Safwat al-Sherif to ban the use of religious slogans by electoral candidates. “We do not deal with the regime except through the courts,” al-Katatny said.
Al-Katatny also denied that the MB planned to use the slogan “The Quran is Our Constitution” in upcoming parliamentary elections slated for late next month.
“We only shout this slogan during demonstrations,” he said. “Although we do believe that the Quran–along with the sayings and deeds of the Prophet–should represent the main source of legislation, in line with Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution.”
According to Ahmed Refaat, member of the state-run National Center for Human Rights, the constitution bans political parties established on a religious basis. “It is therefore illegal to use such slogans,” he said.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
