[IslamCity] Ikhwan: Be not afraid of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood!

[Islahonline]

     News Releases Be not afraid of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood! (The Guardian) London Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Be not afraid of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood! VP of Muslim Brotherhood thinks that democratic reforms could trigger renaissance in Egypt. LONDON - The vice-president of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the banned Islamist movement whose gains shocked the country in Sunday's elections, wrote in a British newspaper Tuesday that there was no need to fear them. Khairat el-Shatir wrote in The Guardian daily that democratic reforms could trigger a renaissance in Egypt. "The violence that has erupted across Egypt in recent days is the result of government panic at the success of the Muslim Brotherhood -- even in the rigged polls that pass for elections in the Arab world's most populous country," Shatir wrote. "Given the pressure for change, we mobilised to win more seats in the hope that these new elections would be more honest and free. We are committed to democracy and to respect fair election results, whatever the outcome." Election results so far showed that the movement "is seen by the public as a viable political alternative". Standing on independent platforms, 13 Islamist candidates won outright on Sunday, to add to the 34 already elected during the first phase of the general election. The Muslim Brotherhood said it would have at least 41 candidates involved in runoffs next Saturday, as the Islamist movement remains on course to clinch a total of 100 seats when the month-long polls wrap up on December 7. In the outgoing People's Assembly, President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party controls 404 out of 454 seats, while the Muslim Brothers were the largest opposition force but with only 15 seats. Shatir wrote that the Brotherhood was seeking a limited role in parliament to create an effective parliamentary bloc. However, this was also due to "the possible reaction of a repressive government backed to the hilt by the US and other Western governments". "What we want to do instead is trigger a renaissance in Egypt, rooted in the religious values upon which Egyptian culture and society is built," he argued. "We believe that the domination of political life by a single political party or group, whether the ruling party, the Muslim Brotherhood or any other, is not desirable." He said the Islamist movement hoped to contribute to achieving significant political and constitutional reforms and to much-needed social, cultural and economic reforms. "The success of the Muslim Brotherhood should not frighten anybody: we respect the rights of all religious and political groups," Shatir said. "Free and fair democratic elections are the first step along the path of reform toward a better future for Egypt and the entire region. We simply have no choice today but to reform."   ت Print this page + Send this page to someone ¶ Bookmark this page ( Comment on this topic *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS  Visit your group "islamcity" on the web.    To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.

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