AFRICA/EGYPT – Christians in the Islamist electoral list. The spokesman of the Salafi: we are obliged by law

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The presence of Coptic Christians in the lists of the Salafist al-Nour Party is a "necessary act" required by the electoral law, and falls within the pre-constitutional requirements that political parties must fulfill in order to be admitted to the upcoming parliamentary elections. Sheikh Adel Nasr, official spokesman of the al-Dawa al-Salafiyya group, therefore, legitimized with a public statement issued last Wednesday the research on behalf of al-Nour leaders of activists known for their membership in the Coptic Christian community to be included in conservative Salafi Party lists in order to participate in the elections scheduled in the coming months of March and April.
In recent days also the Salafi Coptic activist Nader El-Serafy announced his intention to run in the lists of the Conservative Party, an exponent of the Ghad El-Thawra political formation and co-founder of "Copts 38", the lay movement founded in 2011 to demand the restoration of canonical dispositions established by the Coptic Orthodox Church in 1938 - and later repealed - that approved nine conditions in which Christian Copts were allowed to divorce. El- Sarafy defended his decision - criticized by many members of "Copts 38".
The electoral law in force establishes that Coptic Christians must be represented by at least 24 candidates in the lists of the Party that contribute at a national level.
The Egyptian Salafi leaders have repeatedly instructed their followers not to address messages of hope to Christians during Christmas and Easter celebrations, branding such courtesy behavior as a glorification of the "religion of the infidels". At the same time, leading exponents of the Salafi al-Nour Party such as Ashraf Tabet and Salah Abdul Maaboud had long confirmed their willingness to include Coptic candidates in their electoral lists, in compliance with applicable regulations. According to local sources consulted by Agenzia Fides, the search for the baptized to candidate in the Islamist lists seems to move towards circles and groups like "Copts 38", which in the past assumed positions of dissent against the episcopal hierarchy. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 31/01/2015)