Qaradawi Appeals for Egypt Unity

As thousands of Egyptians are preparing for a mass rally on Friday, July 29, to promote national unity, prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has called on Egyptians to close ranks and avoid rift.
“I call on all forces of the revolution to join hands and close ranks…and not to heed rumors that aim to divide them,” Qaradawi, an Egyptian himself, said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net.
“I urge all political powers to put the national interest first, above any individual, partisan, or factional interests.”
Qaradawi’s call comes as a rift between Egypt’s liberal and Islamic groups is deepening over the mechanism to manage the transitional period.
The new constitution was the earliest bone of contention between the two groups, which were once united against the despotic regime of president Hosni Mubarak.
Under the roadmap set by the ruling military council, which took over from Mubarak in February, and endorsed by more than 77% of voters in a March referendum, parliamentary elections will be held, and then 100 MPs would be elected to form a constitutional assembly.
The assembly will write Egypt’s new constitution within six months. Another referendum will be then held to approve or reject the document.
However, liberal groups have campaigned for drafting supra-constitutional principles to govern the work of the constitutional assembly in order to limit the potential impacts of an electoral victory by Islamic groups.
The military council has said it would adopt a “declaration of basic principles” to govern the drafting of the new constitution, sparking outcry from Islamic groups.
Wanting to make their voices heard, the Islamic groups have issued a joint call to their followers to descend on Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday to express rejection of the supra-constitutional principles.
Fearing a violent stand-off in the iconic square, which was the epicenter of the Egyptian revolution, several political powers scrambled to reach a common ground before the Friday protest.
“I call on the revolution’s youths to keep the Tahrir Square’s spirit and ethics, which had astonished the whole world…and not to allow any attempts to tarnish its image,” Qaradawi said.
The prominent scholar also called on the Egyptians to “refrain from accusations of betrayal or exclusion of any national faction.”

Revolution Demands

Qaradawi has also urged the ruling military council to honor its promises to transform Egypt into a democracy.
“I urge the military council to fulfill the main demands of the revolution in line with a clear-cut timetable,” he said.
The military council has vowed to hand over power to an elected civilian government before the end of the year.
But the council has been under fire over the slow pace of reforms with the criticism escalating into an open sit-in by protestors at Tahrir Square.
Hundreds of protestors were injured in clashes in downtown Cairo last week between opponents and supporters of the military council.
The military council has accused the 6th April Group, one of the groups that led protests against Mubarak, of sowing strife.
“I call on the government to fulfill the demands of the people and the revolution’s objectives of freedom, equality and social justice,” Qaradawi said.
“I also underline the importance of speeding up the trials of those accused of killing (the protesters) and bring the corrupt officials to justice,” he added.

Source: OnIslam