Presidential candidate Ahmad Shafīq, former prime minister, lashed out at his rival Muhammad Mursī, candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) at a a press conference. Shafīq said that he would save Egypt from chaos and religious ideologies, upholding the civil character of the state based on freedom of expression, equality and citizenship.
Regarding religious issues, he stressed he would guarantee religious pluralism and would not accept one segment of the society dominating the others. "I represent the civil state, the MB represents a sectarian state. I represent development, they represent underdevelopment and injustice," says Shafīq. He furthermore attacked Mursī for misusing mosques for his electoral campaign.
The former prime minister stated that the MB will threaten Copts in their houses in order to prevent them from voting and rejected rumors that he would remove verses of the Holy Qur'ān from the school curriculum. He affirmed his religious Sufi origin and his religious integrity. He further described the Azhar as his reference in religious matters.
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- Link connect you only to the newspaper website, checked on 16.03.2016.
