589 Defections

A few quick items from the press:

  • One hundred and eight more members of Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) have resigned ahead of the local council elections.
  • Members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood are splitting off from their organization to form a splinter group, Al-Masry al-Youm reports. The group, led by Ali Abd al-Hafiz and comprised mostly of university professors, will be called Tayar Badil, or the “alternative trend.” Abd al-Hafiz wrote a book by the same name criticizing the Brotherhood’s internal administration.
  • The government has released 500 detainees accused of belonging to Islamist groups. Perhaps they are making room for the 800+ Brotherhood detainees.
  • Mustafa al-Fiqi, head of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, affirms that he’s loyal to President Mubarak and his family after he was banned from writing in the state’s flagship daily, Al-Ahram. Al-Masry al-Youm reports that Fiqi has recently accused Israel of harboring ambitions to take back Sinai, and has criticized the U.S. government for “talking about Ayman Nur like he’s [Nelson] Mandela instead of a signature-forger.” More colorful pronouncements from the prominent parliamentarian here.
  • A Cairo court today acquitted Ibrahim Eissa, editor of the feisty opposition daily Al-Dustur, of charges publishing rumors about Mubarak’s health, days after he was sentenced to six months in prison on separate charges of spurring a capital flight from Egypt by reporting rumors that President Mubarak’s health was ailing last August. The charges dismissed today were brought by NDP-affiliated lawyer  Hatem Mohammed. The charges that led to Eissa’s conviction a few days ago were initially brought by State Security.

    Eissa is due back in court on Saturday, April 5, when he and three other editors, Abd al-Halim Qandil (Al-Karama), Adil Hammuda (Al-Fagr), and Wahel al-Ibrashi (Sawt al-Umma), will appeal a one-year prison sentence on charges of “publishing false news likely to disturb public order.”

Lastly, your affirmation for the day comes from Farid al-Din Attar’s Tadhkiratu al-Awliya (Memorial of the Saints): “Glory be to that God who slays our children, and takes away our wealth, and whom withal we love.”

[tags]Egypt, NDP, Muslim Brotherhood, Ibrahim Eissa, Islam[/tags]

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  1. […] Egypt, Elijah Zarwan updates us with news from the political scene in Cairo. They include defections from the main […]

    Pingback by Global Voices Online » Egypt: Defections and Splinter Groups — April 3, 2008 #

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