Submit your comments on this article |
Africa: North |
Egypt Eyes Possibility of Islamist Party |
2005-08-24 |
![]() After a few months in jail when Madi sought to establish his party in 1996 and two subsequent rejections by the committee in charge of licensing new political parties, a State Council court panel in June recommended approval for al-Wasat. An appeals court is to rule on Oct. 1, but the court has never reversed such a recommendation. "I never lost hope," Madi said with a smile as he sat in his downtown office. "Anyone with a cause has to have a huge reservoir of hope and optimism to change a black reality." While the approval would come too late for al-Wasat to field a candidate in the Sept. 7 presidential election, it could participate in parliamentary elections set for November. The road to gain legal status for al-Wasat has been rough. Madi was opposed both by the government of President Hosni Mubarak and his former colleagues in the Muslim Brotherhood, believed to be the country's most powerful opposition force. |
Posted by:Fred |