The Muslim Brotherhood is trying to woo Coptic voters by incorporating them in the group’s election platform for the upcoming parliamentary, sources said. But a number of Coptic activist say the move serves to foment sectarian tension.
Gamal Assad Abdel Malaak, a Coptic political theorist who previously won a parliamentary seat as a Brotherhood candidate, said Brotherhood calls for the Coptic Church to open dialogue with all religious institutions seek gains in political capital under the pretext of conciliation.
Another Coptic theorist, Kamal Zakher, said the Brotherhood would welcome recognition by the Coptic Church as a legitimate Egyptian political institution. The Coptic Church and other religious institutions are, however, already engaged in dialogue, he said.
Zakher urged the Brotherhood to refrain from entering politics, adding that its engagement serves only to exacerbate sectarian tensions.
“If the Brotherhood wants to serve national unity, then why has it excluded the Copts from its program for a political party?” Zakher questioned.
Ammar Ali Hassan, an expert in Islamist affairs, says the mention of the Coptic community in the Brotherhood’s platform constitutes a political maneuver.
This is not the first time the Brotherhood has attempted to woo the Copts, Hassan added. In 2004, the Brotherhood proposed a political reform program that included citizenship rights. The move intended to please the Copts while the group presented itself as an alternative to the ruling party, he said.
But Nabeel Abdel Fattah, vice president of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the Brotherhood’s calls for dialogue are intended to confirm the group wants no part in recent Al-Qaeda threats directed at the Coptic community.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
