Salafi preacher Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud criticized Tuesday the behavior of presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abu Ismail’s supporters, saying they are exercising “intellectual terrorism.”
He said in an interview with Al-Hayat satellite TV channel Tuesday that their attitude will “create a new tyrant,” adding that Abu Ismail should not be described as the “savior president.”
Abdel Maqsoud said he does not oppose Abu Ismail but rejects his followers’ “obsession” with him.
The preacher said he called on Abu Ismail to stop his followers from behaving in such a way, adding that the would-be president himself condemned their attitude, yet “nothing has changed.”
Dozens of Abu Ismail supporters have staged protests since the Presidential Elections Commission announced last week that it had received documents proving Abu Ismail’s mother had an American passport — a discovery that could oust the prominent sheikh from the presidential race.
Abdel Maqsoud said the Salafi group Dawaa is still divided on whose presidential bid to support and that it has not yet been proven whether Abu Ismail’s mother had US citizenship, which would disqualify him from running.
He said Islamists are trying to unite their votes, emphasizing that he can’t say who will get his vote until questions over presidential bids are resolved.
The preacher also said mosques should not be used for presidential campaigns, but only to call people to religion, perhaps in a reference to a conference Abu Ismail held a few days ago in Assad Ibn al-Furat mosque to answer to claims that his mother held American citizenship.
Regarding the recent Constituent Assembly standoff due to complaints and legal challenges over its representation, Abdel Maqsoud said if the political powers that withdrew from the constitution drafting panel had a majority in Parliament, they would have allowed excluded the Brotherhood and Salafis.
Abdel Maqsoud asserted there is nothing wrong with the composition of the committee.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces faces pressure from both within Egypt and from the US and Arab countries to prevent Islamists from dominating any political process, he said.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
