By Tamim Elyan
ALEXANDRIA: Salafi groups have taken center stage following the January 25 Revolution, stirring political and social debates as well as facing accusations of creating sectarian strife.
In the second part of the interview, Abdel Moneim Al-Shahat, a prominent Salafi scholar and the spokesperson for the Salafi movement in Egypt, explained to Daily News Egypt the movement’s stance on controversial issues such as the role of Copts and women in politics as well as the recent attacks on Sufi shrines.
Some analysts say that the Salafi movement is being used as a scarecrow. Do you agree? And Why?
There is a group that wants to impose liberalism on the society and doesn’t want the Islamic idea to grow. Because Salafis are a major player in this field and are calling for [implementing Islamic teachings] and provide shocking answers to liberals’ questions regarding Copts and women in power, [this group] started with them and turned the Muslim Brotherhood into a friendly group after it was considered evil and a sponsor of terrorism.
The ousted regime orchestrated the Two Saints Church bombing in Alexandria and attempted to hold Salafis responsible for it by forcing Sayed Belal to confess that he was the mastermind behind the attack in order to crackdown on the whole movement through a wide arrest campaign; the media was raised in its reign and followed the same methods of making up incidents and holding Salafis responsible for it.
We want the people to know that this campaign is not targeted at Salafis only, but at those who want to inform people about the reality of liberalism.
Stances by the Salafi movement sparked concerns in the society over its role and some accused it of mixing politics with religion for your private agenda especially during the latest referendum?
We called on voters to accept the constitutional amendments after we found that all who refuse the second article of the constitution refused the amendments as they hoped that the amendments included the annulment of the article. We also wanted to accelerate economic growth.
Islam says that there is no separation between politics and religion, we want to tell Muslims that there is a group that wants to annul the second article of the constitution and refused the amendments to return to square one and we asked them to defend the cause we believe in.
Democracy guarantees the rights of elites to present their views to the public and it is up to them to vote for what they want; why did almost nobody comment on the church’s stance which said that Christians who accept the amendments are atheists.
Salafis were accused of tearing down shrines and entered a battle with Sufi groups. Can you comment on that?
Secularists view religion as a superstition, how did they become allies with a superstitious ideology like Sufism; this can only be seen as an attempt to group all the adversaries of Salafis on one front.
We do refuse shrines in mosques but we have always been like that, why would we do this now in a time when the last thing we need is a media hype against us.
Salafis have been organizing mass protests demanding the release of Camilia Shehata and other converts to Islam, what is the purpose of your campaign?
It is the Coalition to Support New Muslims who organizes these protests not the Salafi movement; however, they have taken the legal course by filing a complaint to the general prosecutor and using the right to peacefully protest.
We want to mend the relationship between the state and the church; the previous regime gave up some of its authorities for the church regarding those who want to convert to Islam especially women who are relatives to churchmen, we simply want them to go in public and declare the reasons of their disappearance.
We want Camilia and others to return to normal life and not go to the prosecution in what I call prisoners transfer vehicles to say what they were told to say and return to their forced residence.
What if they declare that they are Christians?
Then the issue will be solved but they must say it under normal conditions or while being in the hands of the state.
Do you think that this is the right time to raise this issue as some say it will stir sectarian tension?
We are talking about rebuilding Egypt and this is part of it, the church must return as an institution that takes care of churchgoers in religious affairs only and not in political issues and stop being a state inside the state. Furthermore, what did this issue hinder so that people ask for postponing it?
Do you accept a civil state?
The definition is vague, it is understood in general as a secular state; however we accept within the current givens a modern democratic state that doesn’t allow the parliament to issue legislations that contradict with Islamic Sharia as opposed to democracy without constraints or with liberal constraints.
Do you accept democracy?
We refuse democracy as a philosophic idea but not as a ruling mechanism if it was governed by Islamic Sharia; it is an acceptable choice but not the best one compared to the principle of Shoura in Islam.
Do you accept a Coptic or female president?
Islamic Sharia refuses that a non-Muslim rule Muslims as leadership involves decisions related to Islamic Sharia. Women are preferred to stay at home and perform their duties that are not in line with leadership.
We have no problem that a non-Muslim hold senior positions but not leadership over Muslims and we believe in the integration between men and women and that men are more qualified to hold leadership positions as they have freedom to appear in public and don’t have religious obstacles in doing this.
How did you receive the death of Osama bin Laden?
We consider him a martyr. He had his virtues and his mistakes but his virtues were more as he gave up wealth and welfare and raised the flag of Jihad against occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, he was wrong in breaking his deal with the west by attacking their homeland on 9/11 and planning attacks in Muslim countries.
The US unintentionally made him a hero in his last scene with the way it killed him and threw his body in the sea abandoning its principles of human rights.
We hope that Al-Qaeda takes advantage of bin Laden’s popularity to renounce violence and win the support of the Islamic street.
