Leaders and members of the Salafi Nour Party held a secret meeting two days ago in Cairo to discuss resigning from the party to establish a new one.
Ismail al-Zayyat, a member of the party’s economic committee and the meeting's organizer, said, “There is an inclination among several leaders of the Nour Party to resign from the party and join the new one, which we will announce the creation of after leaving Nour.”
Zayyat said this was prompted by what he described as the lack of clarity in the Nour Party's decision-making process and the fact that the majority's opinions have been disregarded.
He added that several members feel they have been intentionally marginalized.
Zayyat said decision making is done in the same manner as the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which dictates the opinions of its members.
Imam al-Nemr, one of the participants in the meeting, said a number of prominent Nour Party members attended and expressed readiness to join the new party.
He said the new party is purely political in nature, will not have a religious basis, and seeks to reach power or a share in it.
The Nour Party is one of many parties formed after the 25 January uprising and the first to have a Salafi religious basis.
The party calls for implementing the Islamic Sharia and bolstering Egypt’s Islamic identity. It recognizes the right of Copts to be governed by their creed with regards to their personal affairs.
The party was part of the Democratic Alliance, led by the FJP, but pulled out when liberal and secular parties joined.
It fomed a Salafi electoral alliance, along with other Salafi parties — mainly the Assala and Construction and Development parties — and managed to win 24 percent of the seats in the People’s Assembly.
Translated from Al-Masry Al-Youm
