Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Platform Urges Implementation of Islamic Law

The October issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin (published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) analyzes the draft party platform of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. It urges the implementation of sharia law in Egypt. Among other things, the platform calls for senior religious scholars to have the right to veto legislation that does not conform to principles of Islamic law. It calls for creating an elected board of religious scholars with whom the president and the legislature would have to consult on pending legislation. It also would discriminate against Coptic Christians, claiming that on religious grounds only Muslims should be allowed to hold the offices of president and prime minister.