Egypt: Different Flavours of Islamism in Politics

Islamist parties in Egypt cannot be lumped together. The Vote Compass analysis reveals that four types of political Islam can be distinguished. While some of them only reluctantly embrace democratic values, others are more liberal in their economic and social stances.

Islamic political movements in Egypt could come close to a parliamentary majority and stand a good chance of securing the presidency. In comparison to other parties, they have massive popular support and well organised party structures.



The most important Islamist political movements present themselves as democratic and part and parcel of the democratic transition. But to what extent does their political program support liberal democratic ideas? And are they all the same?

Four currents of political Islamism

Radio Netherlands Worldwide and the Vrije Universiteit (Free University) introduced the Vote Compass in Egypt (www.bosala.org) as an online tool to help voters determine which parties they are closest to. The Vote Compass analysis of party programs and websites shows that there are considerable differences between the parties on economic issues, while three of the four parties have basically converging views on social and moral questions.

There are four important Islamic parties in Egypt, representing four types of political Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party is economically moderate yet socially conservative. Al-Nour is the Salafist party, with leftist economic views and an ultraconservative social outlook. The Construction and Development Party, originating from the Jamaa Islamiyya movement, can be considered conservative and is the most right-leaning party in economics. Finally there is the economically centrist and socially progressive Wasat.

Economic variety



The four Islamist parties have widely varying economic views. While the Construction and Development Party can be labeled as 'right-wing', Wasat and Freedom and the Justice Party (FJP) are centrist and Al-Nour is clearly left-wing oriented, in the sense that they favor state-led economic development.

While both the Freedom and Justice Party and the Construction and Development Party are clearly in favor of pro-market liberal economic development, they are less enthusiastic about individual freedoms and choice when it comes to moral issues.

'Brothers in arms'

Freedom and Justice, Construction and Development and Al-Nour are 'brothers in arms', diametrically opposed to all the other parties that shape the political landscape in Egypt, including the other Islamist party Wasat. They are far less in favor of equal political rights for Christian Copts and Muslims and reject the possibility of a Coptic Christian becoming president of Egypt.



The gap between the three Islamist parties and their more liberally oriented contesters becomes even wider on the statement that a woman can be president of Egypt. The three conservative Islamist parties do not allow women to hold the highest office in the land. By the way, these party positions reflect the opinions of a majority of Egyptians who used the Vote Compass: more than 60 per cent of all (not only Islamist!) users reject the statement that a woman can be president of Egypt, against only 30,5 per cent favoring this possibility.

Conservative women

Women turn out to be more conservative than men. Over 72 out of every 100 female respondents are convinced that women should primarily take care of the family rather than work outside the house, while only 57 out of a hundred men support this traditional division of labor among men and women.

This pattern among the three Islamist parties being against full political freedoms and equality for all is consistent across a large number of issues. The conclusion is clear: while Islamists parties - with the exception of Al Nour - can be seen as economically liberal, they are illiberal when it comes to immaterial social issues.

Wasat against the other Islamists

There is one exception: Wasat (Centre), which is clearly the economically centrist and socially progressive version of Islam in Egypt. Wasat is a breakaway from the Moslim Brotherhood political movement Freedom and Justice Party. The very liberal position makes it clear why Wasat broke away from the Islamists: on social values and fundamental freedoms Wasat adopts libertarian views that are diametrically opposed to the social outlook of Freedom & Justice, Construction and Development and Al Nour.


The first election results show a very strong support for the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). Yet, the Vote Compass data show a different aspect. When users of Vote Compass were asked not to make one final party choice, but to indicate the likelihood that they would vote for each of the Islamist parties, it emerged that more than one third (34 per cent) of FJP sympathizers are still contemplating to vote for Wasat. Also half of the voters that show a strong sympathy for Wasat are still contemplating to vote for FJP.

With so many undecided voters still doubting between the two moderate versions of Islamist politics, the race could in the coming months still become more exciting than most observers want us to believe.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201112161496.html