Building and Development Party حزب البناء والتنمية El-Benaa Wa El-Tanmia | |
---|---|
Chairman | Tarek al-Zumar [1] |
Founded | 20 June 2011 |
Ideology |
Islamism Economic liberalism Conservatism |
Political position | Centre-right |
National affiliation | National Legitimacy Support Coalition [2] |
House of Representatives | 0 / 568
|
The Building and Development Party ( Arabic: حزب البناء والتنمية, romanized: Hizb el-Benaa wa el-Tanmia, alternatively translated as Construction and Development Party) is an Islamist political party in Egypt.
Initiated by the al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya ("Islamic Group"), it is seen as the political wing of the movement. [3] [4] The party was established on 20 June 2011, [5] following the 2011 Egyptian revolution, and officially endorsed by the Supreme Administrative Court on 10 October 2011. [6] The Building and Development Party has participated in the 2011–12 Egyptian parliamentary election as part of the Alliance for Egypt (dubbed as the "Islamist Bloc"), led by the Salafist Al-Nour Party. [7] The possible dissolution of the party is being investigated by the Political Parties Affairs Committee. [8]
According to its manifesto, the party stands for a representative democracy with institutions guided by the principles of the Sharia, while rejecting any form of theocracy. Moreover, it favours a free economy and questions the size of the public sector. [9] Among the party's ranks is Abbud al-Zumar, who was imprisoned for nearly twenty years for involvement in the assassination of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. [10]
The group has accepted the resignation of Assem Abdel Magued following his incitement against the Egyptian military; the organization has expressed its commitment to peace following the coup that toppled Mohamed Morsi. [11] The party considered leaving the Anti-Coup Alliance; it has called for reconciliation with the Sisi administration. [12] al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, the parent organization of the party, is considering participating in the 2015 parliamentary election. [13]
The Building and Development Party is one of the eleven Islamic parties targeted by a lawsuit in November 2014, when an organization named Popular Front for opposing the Brotherhoodization of Egypt sought to dissolve all political parties established "on a religious basis." [14] The Alexandria Urgent Matters Court however ruled on 26 November 2014 that it lacked jurisdiction. [15]