Egypt Report – Dec. 5

The big news this week has been Egypt’s parliamentary elections that took place on Sunday, Nov 28, where, as expected, the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) emerged victorious. An unnamed source reported that during the time the polls were open, sporadic violence left approximately 16 dead and 100 injured.


Following the results of the elections there have been widespread accusations of fraud against Mubarak’s NDP, who were accused of vote rigging. In the wake of this, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Wafd party have dropped out of the second round of voting. The Wafd party has released a statement stating that they will fire any party members who decide to run in the second round.


In religious news, the Egyptian supreme court has upheld their ruling that Coptic Christians can be re-married, a stance that challenges the official position of the Church. According to the Coptic Church, divorce and re-marriage are only valid in special circumstances such as if there has been a case of adultery. This ruling, while appearing reasonable to many, will undoubtedly continue to raise tensions between the Egyptian government and the Coptic religious establishment.


The Egyptian Minister of Family and Population, Moshira Khattab, signed an international petition this week for a UN ban on female genital mutilation. This practice, which is formally banned by the Egyptian government and denounced as un-Islamic by Al-Azhar, has been increasingly popular in Egypt and the surrounding countries in East Africa. In Egypt, this custom is popular in Christian and Muslim families and some figures estimate numbers to be as high as 90% in some areas.


In Saudi Arabia, the head of the Mecca branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, said there is nothing in Islam that prevents women from driving and additionally, that is unnecessary for women to cover their faces. These statements by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Gamdi were given as part of a conference entitled “Women’s Participation in National Development”, and were met by overwhelming applause from the females in the audience. Events such as these resonate in Egypt where Muslims, especially those who have worked abroad in Saudi Arabia, are adopting salafi ideologies and donning the Niqab.