Egyptian Court Says Islamist Group's Party Can Field Candidates

Reuters reports that yesterday an Egyptian court overturned a decision of the parties committee and permitted the Islamist group al-Gam'aa al-Islamiyya's Construction and Development Party to run candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The parties committee had rejected Construction and Development because the party wanted to introduce Islamic law and because one of its founders had been convicted of a criminal offense-- involvement in the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat.  While Egyptian law bans parties based on religion, the court said that the Construction and Development Party does not restrict membership on the basis of religion and its founders included Muslims and non-Muslims.