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, calling instead for the creation of an alliance between all the Islamist political groups in Egypt.

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 current 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

Socio-economic 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

Major Party Figures:
Emad ad-Din Abd al-Ghofour: President

Websites:
http://www.alnourparty.org/
http://ar-ar.facebook.com/AlnourParty (Facebook)

From Guide to Egypt’s Transition, Carnegie Endowment for International Peacehttp://egyptelections.carnegieendowment.org/2011/09/21/al-nour-light-party

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