Secular Alliance With Sufists Aims to Polarize Egyptians, Says Coptic FJP Leader

Dr. Rafiq Habib, Vice President of Freedom and Justice Party, said in statements to Ikhwanweb that the demonstrations endorsed by Sufists and secular forces scheduled to take place next Friday do not stand on one solid unified ground, and therefore might lead to more polarization among Egyptian currents.   

The Muslim Brotherhood and Freedom and Justice Party decided not to participate in Friday’s protests, saying they do not represent national consensus. 

 

Habib asserted that the attempt to build a coalition between the secular forces and the Sufists is in itself one of the manifestations of polarization that is taking place in Egypt after the revolution, yet he said that this is normal, as the early stages of democracy are usually dominated by a degree of polarization and disorganized political competition. 

Habib added, "In fact, the problem is not related to the alliances that could be built at this stage, but the consequences and implications that could result from such alliances. The willingness of multiple secular forces to build an anti-Islamic coalition drives them to take many risks. They have tried to deepen the Christian/Islamic polarization so as to build for themselves a strong alliance that involves Christians. Later, they started by now the process of deepening the inter-Islamic polarization by capitalizing on their differences."

 

Habib stressed that most of the secular forces have worked to deepen the fears of Christians towards the Islamist trend in the very same approach that was applied by the former regime. 

"It is natural that the secular forces try to mobilize the Christians to support the secular state, (which they call the civil state), while opposing and fighting against the Islamist trends. Yet, the new development here is the attempt to take advantage of the Sufi current, as a trend that is widespread among the public, to be the lever of the secular forces in their mission against the Islamists by employing the difference between the Sufi and the Salafi currents for the benefit of the secular cause," he said.

Habib added that when the liberal and leftist forces found that they had no solid popular base, they turned to the religious crowds and religious mobilization; first through the mobilization of Christians, then mobilizing Muslim Sufi groups – even though these groups pour in favor of the Muslim identity. It seems like they are trying to deepen the polarization among the Islamic forces and turning them at each other, after a phase where the liberal and leftist forces were working for deepening the polarization between secular and Islamic forces.

Dr. Rafiq Habib explained that some of the secular forces have a state of anxiety and tension against the currently ongoing political process; and this makes them always trying to impose such a concern on the Egyptian society as a whole and on the Egyptian street in general, just for the aim of making the public full of concern and uncertainty. He also confirmed that this situation is causing a negative impact on the ability of the Egyptian society to shift towards the phase of rebuilding and reconstruction.

He asserted that what Egypt is witnessing now – even though some of it is partially impeding the political process and hindering the construction process – is a stage of political experimentation; and the Egyptian society is drawing many useful lessons learned that will guide the movement of all political forces in whatever different directions. He said that this will have a positive impact on the political process at the end of today.