The Egyptian Current Party ( ar, حزب التيار المصري, Ḥizb al-Tayyār al-Maṣrī), also translated as Egyptian Stream Party, was an Egyptian
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
, founded after the
revolution of 2011. The party announced on 1 October 2014 that it had merged into the
Strong Egypt Party
The Strong Egypt Party ( ar-at, حزب مصر القوية, Hizb Misr al-Qawia) is an Egyptian centrist political party founded in 2012 by former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh.
History
The Strong Egypt Party was established i ...
.
[
It was formed by a portion of the ]Muslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers ( ar, جماعة الإخوان المسلمين'' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan ...
's youth wing. Its leaders, including Mohamed El-Kassas and Ahmed Abd El-Gawad, were expelled from the Brotherhood, because the Islamist organisation does not tolerate its members joining political parties other than the official Freedom and Justice Party. Other members were part of the April 6 Movement. The party stood for a centrist and more liberal version of Islamic politics.
At the time of its foundation on 21 June 2011, the Egyptian Current Party had 150 members.
According to its manifesto, the Egyptian Current Party advocated the separation of religion and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
, the protection of individual freedoms, and a youth-driven economic development. It embraced Islamic culture and values without enforcing the religious law (Sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
).
Observers saw the formation of the new party against the background of the expulsion from the Brotherhood of Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh
Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh Abdel Hady ( ar, عبد المنعم أبو الفتوح عبد الهادي, or ) (born 15 October 1951) is an Egyptian physician, former student activist and a politician. In 2011–2012, he ran for President of E ...
, a liberal Islamic presidential candidate with high popularity among the organised Islamic youth. Another disagreement which led to the division between the Muslim Brotherhood and the youth grouping concerned the Brotherhood's refusal to allow it to take part in " The Second Revolution" protests on Tahrir Square
Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English language, English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political dem ...
in May 2011.
References
2011 establishments in Egypt
2014 disestablishments in Egypt
Centrist parties in Egypt
Defunct political parties in Egypt
Islamic political parties in Egypt
Political parties disestablished in 2014
Political parties established in 2011
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