The Building and Development Party ( ar-at, حزب البناء والتنمية, 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 ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, "the Islamic Group"; also transliterated El Gama'a El Islamiyya; also called "Islamic Groups" and transliterated Gamaat Islamiya, al Jamaat al Islamiya, is an Egyptian Sunni Islamist movement, and ...

(''"Islamic Group"''), it is seen as the political wing of the movement. The party was established on 20 June 2011, following the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

, and officially endorsed by the Supreme Administrative Court on 10 October 2011. The Building and Development Party has participated in the

2011–12 Egyptian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Egypt from 28 November 2011 to 11 January 2012, following the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak, after which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) dissolved Parliament. However the diss ...

as part of the Alliance for Egypt (dubbed as the "Islamist Bloc"), led by the Salafist

Al-Nour Party ) , foundation = , newspaper = The New Light , headquarters = 601 Horrya Way, Zezenia, Alexandria , ideology = SalafismIslamismWahhabismMadkhalism , position = Far-right , colours = Blue, red, wh ...

. The possible dissolution of the party is being investigated by the Political Parties Affairs Committee. According to its manifesto, the party stands for a

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

with institutions guided by the principles of the Sharia, while rejecting any form of

theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

. Moreover, it favours a free economy and questions the size of the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, inf ...

. Among the party's ranks is

Abbud al-Zumar Aboud El Zomor ''(also ''Abboud el-Zumar'', ''Abbud el-Zumar'', ''Aboud el-Zomoor'', ''Abboud el-Zomor'', ''Abboud el-Zomor'', ''Abod Zoummar'' '', arz, عبود الزمر, Abbud el-Zummor, , born August 1948) is an Egyptian Islamist and fundam ...

, who was imprisoned for nearly twenty years for involvement in the assassination of the Egyptian president

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

. 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 Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-AyyatThe spellings of his first and last names vary. survey of 14 news organizations plus Wikipedia in July 2012 Anti-Coup Alliance The Anti-Coup Alliance (also known as the National Alliance Supporting Legitimacy) is a coalition in Egypt formed to reverse the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi. The coalition is made up of approximately 40 Islamist parties and groups. ...

; it has called for reconciliation with the Sisi administration.

, the parent organization of the party, is considering participating in the 2015 parliamentary election.

Lawsuit against Islamic parties

The ''Building and Development Party'' is one of the eleven

Islamic parties Below are lists of political parties espousing Islamic identity or political Islam in various approaches under the system of Islamic democracy. Islamic democracy refers to a political ideology that seeks to apply Islamic principles to public po ...

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." The Alexandria Urgent Matters Court however ruled on 26 November 2014 that it lacked jurisdiction.

References

2011 establishments in Egypt Islamic political parties in Egypt Organisations of the Egyptian Crisis (2011–2014) Political parties established in 2011 Political parties in Egypt {{Egypt-party-stub