Nour Party

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Nour Party

A backgrounder on the Nour Party.

Published on Sep 21, 2011

This resource was published on 09/21/2011 and is not updated to reflect changing circumstances.

Al-Nour is a Salafi political party founded after the January 2011 uprising. It was originally a member of the Democratic Alliance, but left the alliance in September 2011, becoming the founding member and largest party in the Islamist Alliance.

Major Party Figures

Younes Makhioun: President

Background

Al-Nour was founded in 2011 following the January 2011 uprising. It was the first Salafi political organization to submit a request to be recognized as an official political party. The party’s former president, Emad ad-Din Abd al-Ghofour, made the request in May 2011 as the representative of the party’s founders, and al-Nour was granted official status on June 12, 2011. The party advocates gradual reform under the slogan: “The only reform we desire is the reform we can achieve.” This slogan is based on a view of the principles of Islam as a comprehensive framework for religion and state.

Platform

Political Issues

Supporting Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution which states that Islam is the religion of the state and the Islamic law is the main source of legislation
Preserving fundamental rights and public freedoms in the framework of Islamic law
Calling for Islamic law to serve as the guiding principles for all political, social and economic issues
Supporting separation between the legislative, judicial and executive powers and independence of the judiciary

Socioeconomic Issues

Preserving the right to private property and free economic competition as long as it does not harm the interests of society
Reducing unemployment through state provision of jobs
Recognizing health care as a basic human right
Calling for the complete independence of al-Azhar from the government and restoration of its prominent role throughout the Islamic world
Improving education and establishing training programs throughout Egypt
Advocating for a greater state role in the institutions of Zakat and Waqf
Supporting religious freedom for the Copts and separate personal status laws for non-Muslims

Foreign Policy Issues

Founding foreign relations on a basis of mutual respect and equality
Supporting a greater role for Egypt in the Arab and Islamic worlds as well as among the Nile Basin countries, particularly Sudan

North Africa Egypt

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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