Oh, BOO HOO! This is what happens when a secular country like Egypt votes in representatives of the two most radical IslamoFacist parties in the country. Are you missing Hosni Mubarak yet? You will.
“We all know that these vice prevention committees are really a way to subject women to disgusting ways of life and push us farther into the house and away from the public,” Suzie argues.
Egypt is an oddity in the Middle East and with the recent gains being made by Islamic groups in the country’s first post-Hosni Mubarak election, many are worried that a conservative brand of Islam is already rising from the uprising. The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), and the Al-Nour Salafist Party have won the lion’s share of votes thus far, with nearly two-thirds of votes cast in their favor.
“That can scare people a lot, but we must all remain cautious before we jump to conclusions,” says Nehad Abu Komsan, the head of the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights (ECWR). “I don’t think that many people voted for these parties because of a conviction toward them, but more because that was who was campaigning the most.”
The grassroots Committee for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue has adopted the name of an official government body that operates in Saudi Arabia. Armed with wooden canes, the Saudi committee’s paid operatives and volunteers patrol the streets enforcing the strict separation of men and women, conservative dress codes, public prayer and other behavior it regards as commanded by Islam. Looking nervously at the Saudi model, activists and average Egyptians worry about what the Egyptian vice committee might bring as Islamist parties sweep the elections.
You won't be seeing bikinis on the beaches of Egypt anymore
“I do feel the Salafists are powerful and have a lot of support because they have told people that the Western liberals and protesters are doing bad things like drugs and having sex. This scares people who believe them,” says café owner Mohamed Yussif, who runs a small successful middle-class café in downtown Cairo. “I hear people talk about our customers and say they should not be here, especially the women.”
Even little girls are not immune from the morality police
Suzie contends that they have a big draw for the average Egyptian because of the conservative and religious undertones to their message. She argues that groups that build a mission on faith and Islam are “strong with people who think that anything Islamic is a good thing.”
The on-line group, named after their Saudi brothers, claims the great majority of Egyptians support their efforts, citing “millions of Egyptians who voted for the Al-Nour Party.” They argue this proves their support is not fabricated.
The group’s official Facebook page – all administrators of the page are anonymous – claims to “preserve the morals of Egyptians in accordance with Sharia law.”
Already, Egyptians are reporting members of the group have entered shops, cafes and other Egyptian locations to lecture owners on the un-Islamic nature of their businesses, often referring to places that sell body-clinging women’s clothes and alcohol as haram, or forbidden in Islam.
Two Iranian women arrested by the morality police for their inappropriate attire
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