Today's NYTimes seeks to quell concerns that the results in recent Egyptian elections may be a sign of an impending conservative theocracy in the state. The success of the Islamist Salfis, the piece suggests, is due primarily to non-religious concerns:
A closer examination of the Salafi campaigns, however, suggests their appeal may have as much to do with anger at the Egyptian elite as with a specific religious agenda. The Salafis are a loose coalition of sheiks, not an organized party with a coherent platform, and Salafi candidates all campaign to apply Islamic law as the Prophet Muhammad did, but they also differ considerably over what that means.
…
Many voters, including some who do not share the Salafis’ puritanical morals, say they trust the sheiks to understand their perspectives for tangible reasons. The sheiks, like the Muslim Brotherhood, have worked for years to provide social services, including free food and medicine, to Egypt’s needy. “They served the people, so it only makes sense that if they were in Parliament they would do more,” said Yehia el-Sayed, 41, a school employee smoking outside a cafe in Port Said, a city known for its liberalism but where Salafis outpaced the liberals with a surprisingly strong 20 percent of the vote.
I regarded the hope and concern for religious freedom in Egypt as one of the top religious liberty stories of the year this year. Read the whole list here.
