Skip to main content

Egyptian Christians weigh joining Nour Party list

A dispute with the Coptic Church over personal status laws and a new electoral law have led some Christians toward running on the Salafist Nour Party list.
Ashraf Thabet, salafist leader and the Vice-President Al-Nour Party speaks to media after a news conference against the upcoming 28 November Islamic demonstrations in Cairo November 26, 2014. An ultra-conservative Salafi Islamist group in Egypt called the "Salafist Front" has called for protests on 28 November to "end military rule". The banner reads " No to demonstrations of 28 November". REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh  (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4FO63
Read in 

The Salafist Call, also known as the al-Daawa Movement, continues to forbid Muslims to celebrate Christmas with Christians in Egypt on either Dec. 25 or Jan. 6, describing such as a glorification of the infidels’ religion. The movement also forbade Muslims from co-celebrating Easter in 2014. Meanwhile, however, a number of leaders of the Nour Party — the political arm of the Salafist Call — said in December that the issue of a quota for Copts on the party’s list for upcoming parliamentary elections had been resolved, with the party successfully adding a number of Christians to them.

The law governing the elections stipulates that Copts be represented by 24 candidates in the electoral lists of each party at the national level. They are guaranteed at least 24 seats in the next parliament. Copts can also, of course, run for parliamentary seats as individuals.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.