A Salafist Member of Parliament (MP), Younis Mkhion, requested on Monday that an urgent briefing be put before the People's Assembly calling for a block on all pornographic sites in Egypt's internet network, according to the official Salafist Nour Party website.

"These sites spread evil among different sects of the Egyptian society," said Mkhion in his request, "its content is criminalised by Egyptian law as well as being a breach of religious beliefs and social values and morals." The Salafist MP also stated that blocking pornography sites should not be considered a breach of freedom of speech.

If a majority in parliament agree with Mkhion's demand, the Ministry of Communications will be entitled to enforce the ban.

The Salafist Nour party secured approximately 25 per cent of the seats in Egypt's first parliament since Mubarak's ouster.

The beliefs of the ultra-conservative Islamist party are regarded by many seculars as a threat to free speech and personal freedoms. However, it is expected that the Islamist dominated parliament will not object to the ban. Across various social media platforms, many Egyptians have expressed their fears that blocking these websites might open the door to political and religious bans of other media as well as the Internet.