By Heba Fahmy
CAIRO: “It’s impossible to separate religion from politics or the state in a country like Egypt,” Coptic thinker and Vice President of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), Rafiq Habib, told Daily News Egypt in an interview on Tuesday.
“Egypt is a community that has been built on religious foundations since the beginning of time,” he said.
Habib explained that during the Pharaohs, the state was based on principles of pagan religions. He added that later Christianity replaced atheism, followed by Islam.
“If the reference of society are the principles, objectives and provisions of religion then the reference of the state, legislations, executive and judiciary authorities must be the same,” he said.
Habib is affiliated with the Anglican Communion and is the director of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services, as well as a researcher of Islamist movements.
He wrote numerous articles about the Muslim Brotherhood and their role in the political arena, as well as several books discussing Copts and religious movements in Egypt and the relation between politics and religion including his book, “Political Christianity in Egypt.”
His decision to join the leadership of a party representing the ideologies and principles of the Muslim Brotherhood outraged and shocked the Coptic community.
“The problem is that the Christian community has a completely distorted image of the Islamic movement because of the former corrupt regime and its media,” he said.
As a result, most Copts believe that the role of Islamic movements in society and politics will deprive Copts of their basic rights, he added.
Most Copts consider Al-Qaeda the only model that represents Islamic groups, according to Habib.
He accused the former regime, which he described as “a tyrant secular regime,” of “hijacking” and exploiting Copts to fight against the Islamic movement in the political arena.
“After the January 25 Revolution, Copts are again being exploited by the secular elite against the Islamic movement.” This increases the rift between Copts and Muslims and compromises national unity, he added.
Habib pointed out the hypocrisy in exploiting the Coptic group to support the secular movement, “although [Copts] are a conservative group that don’t adopt or represent secular ideas or principles.”
He said that this was one of the main reasons he decided to join the FJP.
“This is the beginning of communication and building a bridge between Copts and the Islamic movement. … The gap and rivalry between Copts and the Islamic movement in general is an unnatural phenomenon and if it continues it will represent a danger to society.”
The FJP is an opportunity for Habib to overcome this danger and unite the Egyptian people, Muslims and Christians, and focus on building a new Egypt.
“The Brotherhood is what we call the pillar or the spinal cord of the Islamic movement,” he said. “It’s rooted inside the Egyptian community and has a great effect on it.”
Habib rejected calls for scrapping Article 2 of the constitution, which states that Islam is the religion of the state and that Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation.
“The majority of the Egyptian society identifies itself as an Arab Islamic society that considers Islamic legislation the frame that regulates the state and the political system,” he said.
“We need to deal with this reality and respect the people’s will.”
He said he believed that Article 2 would remain in the constitution despite these calls, as it has existed in Egypt’s constitution since 1923 after Egypt separated from the Ottoman rule.
Habib refuted claims that the FJP was a theocratic religious party posing as a civil one to get around the law.
He explained that a religious party is one that calls for the rule of religious scholars or consists of followers of one specific religion or is based on the principle of the divine right to rule. These principles don’t apply to the FJP, according to Habib.
The FJP has 8,821 founding members across Egypt’s 27 governorates, including 978 women and 93 Copts. It is expected to start operating officially on June 17.
Habib stressed that the FJP has a political program that allows Copts to be influential leaders and members within the party.
The group stated on several occasions that it is a civil party with an Islamic reference, adding that the party will enjoy complete financial and administrative independence from the group, but will “coordinate” with it.
The party’s programs, practices, projects and stances will be independent from the group, Habib explained.
Members of the party, he added, base their views and ideas on Islamic culture and civilization, which he likened to “a historical building monitored and studied by many researchers and scholars”.
Regarding cooperation between Salafi groups and the Muslim Brotherhood, Habib said that if the secular movement continued to launch media campaigns against the Islamic movements, this will force its diverse factions to unite instead of competing against each other in the political arena.
“I always describe the Brotherhood as a moderate wing inside the Islamic movement. The Salafi groups are more conservative than the Brotherhood and have different political views.”
He explained that Salafi groups are considered the right wing of the Islamic movements and include many factions, including extremist groups.
On May 1, the group announced that it will contest 45-50 percent of seats in the upcoming People’s Assembly elections slated for September.
The group repeatedly stated that it would not field a candidate in the next presidential elections and wouldn’t support any member who decides to run as an independent. MB senior member Abdel Moniem Aboul Fotouh announced earlier his intention to resign from the group and run for president. He was joined this week by Islamic preacher and lawyer Hazem Abu Ismail, who claimed to be a prominent MB figure, although the group denied that.
Habib said that these announcements put the group in a difficult position to maintain its credibility.
He added that the group implements a strict policy against members who defy its rules and expels them from the group. “That’s the only thing the group can do,” he said. “It can’t prevent any of its members from resigning and running in the presidential elections.”
“These are rights guaranteed for all people.”
