Erian: People Sovereignty Does Not Conflict with Islamic Law

Dr. Essam El-Erian, Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Vice-Chairman, affirmed that the adoption, in Egypt’s new Constitution, of the principle of ‘sovereignty of the people’ and that ‘the people are the source of all authority’, does not constitute a challenge or an affront to God, nor a blasphemy.

On his page in Facebook, Erian said: "The people exercise their sovereignty in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, which stipulates that "Islam is the state religion and Arabic the official language, and the principles of Islamic Sharia the main source of legislation.

"The new Egyptian constitution endorses an already settled matter in constitutional jurisprudence, where in Article V it says: ‘Sovereignty is of the people, exercised and protected by the people who also safeguard national unity. The people are the source of authority, as set out in the Constitution’."

Dr. Erian further said: "Some make belief that God is in confrontation with the people. This is entirely not true, and totally unacceptable.

"Muslim scientists, scholars, judges and leaders of Islam’s main schools of thought produced a variety of reasoning and interpretations. Today, jurisprudential academies, not individuals, do that reasoning and interpretation. We can take of such reasoning what serves the general interests of the homeland and the people."