'Supra-constitutional principles' are 'dead,' says MB official

Ahram Online, Monday 5 Dec 2011

After Muslim Brotherhood's strong showing in first round of Egypt's parliamentary polls, group's secretary-general describes controversial El-Selmi document as 'dead'

Mohamed Hussein
Mohamed Hussein the general-secretary of the brotherhood

Following an Islamist landslide in Egypt’s first post-Mubarak ‎parliamentary polls, a Muslim Brotherhood (MB) official has ‎declared the so-called “supra-constitutional principles” – ‎proposed last month by the former government of prime minister Essam ‎Sharaf – to be “dead,” warning that anyone who attempted to ‎revive them “would die with them.”‎

At a press conference on Sunday, MB Secretary-General ‎Mahmoud Hussein said the raft of principles, dubbed the “El-‎Selmy Communiqué” since it was initially proposed by former ‎deputy prime minister Ali El-Selmy, had “died” with the resignation of the ‎Essam Sharaf government on 21 November.‎

Most parties and groups across the political spectrum had ‎fiercely opposed the proposed set of principles, especially ‎Islamists who expect to win a majority of seats in parliament – ‎thus giving them considerable influence over the drafting of any ‎future constitution. Political forces also charged that the ‎principles granted unparalleled powers to Egypt’s ruling ‎Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.‎

In an effort to appease critics’ fears of an Islamist-led ‎government, Hussein went on to state that there was “no such ‎thing as theocracy” in Islam, saying that no examples of such ‎could be found in Islamic history. Instead, he asserted, the MB ‎sought to create a “civil state with an Islamic reference point.”‎

He also denied claims that the MB, once in power, would crack ‎down on Egypt’s tourism sector, stressing the group’s desire for ‎a thriving local tourism industry “that actually benefits the ‎Egyptian people and propels the economy forward.”‎

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