Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi declared a 30-day state of emergency on Sunday in riot-hit areas of Suez, Port Said and Ismailiah. The announcement came after violent protests swept the country, which left 46 people dead. Mursi had imposed a night curfew in three other cities earlier.
What is surprising is that the decision to impose emergency comes from a leader who had promised not to do so when he took power.
According to the new constitution of Egypt, the President must inform the parliament within seven days of declaring an emergency. Article (148) of the new Constitution reads: “The President shall proclaim, after informing the government, a state of emergency and this proclamation must be submitted to the parliament in seven days. If the parliament is not in session, an emergency session must be convened for this purpose. In case of dissolution of the parliament, it must be referred to the Advisory Council.” After the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian parliament approved the extension of emergency law for a period two years.
On September 10, 2011, the Military Council, which had taken the reins of power from Mubarak, decided to impose emergency after the storming of the Israeli embassy in Cairo. However, Mursi announced at a press conference before the presidential election that “we do not need emergency laws, and there will be no emergency in future”. This is not the first time – and it is widely believed that this will not be the last time – Morsi goes back on his promises.
Emergency has returned to Egyptian life again, but under Muslim Brotherhood’s rule, which had rejected it. It was also rejected by all segments of Egyptian population and human rights and civil organisations.
We reject and condemn what is happening in Egypt because we see Egypt as a real model for the rest of the Arab world and want the country to lay the foundations for good governance and democracy which can later spread throughout the Arab world.
We also hope that scholars don’t issue a fatwa and provide justification for declaring emergency because it will give legitimacy to other rulers who can use it as a weapon to destroy the will of people. Islam should not be misused by those in power. Sheikh Muhamed Sharawy’s words are relevant here: “I hope that religion help politics and not politics vitiate the religion”.
