Written by Don Byrd
In the first ever televised presidential debate in Egypt, the 2 leading candidates, Amr Moussa (former foreign minister) and Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh (formerly of the Muslim Brotherhood), answered questions about the role of religion in government, their views on political parties based on religious identity, and about religious liberty generally (among, of course, many other issues). Here are some clips from The Guardian’s comprehensive coverage.
5.04pm ET/10.04pm BST: Cat’s out of the bag, Abul-Futouh admits he wants to implement Sharia law after Moussa faces him with it.
There is a difference of opinion between “the principles of Sharia” being the basis of legislation as stated in Article 2 of the constitution and the “rulings of Sharia” which is the Sharia bylaws.
Moussa points out that Abul-Futouh wants to implement the rulings of Sharia and Abul-Futouh quips “of course”.
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6.36pm ET/11.36pm BST: The following question is about the status of the Muslim Brotherhood, religious-based parties and civil liberties and minority rights.Abul-Futoh says that the Brotherhood has no special status and will be treated as any other NGO. All must respect the law and not work outside it. “I am against religious parties in the sense that membership is reserved only for a certain religion,” he says. “As for parties that respect Islamic reference, that is in the constitution. I am against the term ‘minorities’ – Copts are equal citizens like all other Egyptians, there will be no discrimination.”
Moussa says: “The Muslim Brotherhood is no longer banned, but is still not yet legal and can easily be classified as a legal body. I’m against religious parties because discrimination is inherent in it. This causes division amongst citizens.”
