CAIRO — Just like in 2012, religious institutions in Egypt continue to influence the actions of candidates running for the 2018 presidential elections. Local press reports from Nov. 30 said that former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq had contacted a number of politicians, including leaders in the Salafist Nour Party, before he announced Nov. 29 his intention to run for the 2018 elections.

Also, a number of journalists and politicians who support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi — such as Dandarawy al-Hawari, the executive chief editor of the Youm7 newspaper — have focused on the ties that Shafiq forged in 2012 with the Salafist Dawa Party and its political arm, the Nour Party, as a means of disparaging Shafiq among the popular bases and the opponents of any religious role in politics.

The Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, faced such an opposition on the part of people who refused any religious role in politics, before the Egyptian armed forces toppled former President Mohammed Morsi on July 3, 2013. This came following popular protests that broke out against Morsi and the Brotherhood on June 30 of the same year.

Hawary wrote in a Dec. 5 article in the Youm7 newspaper, “Shafiq keeps issuing slogans while only working for his own interest. This was made evident in the 2012 presidential elections when he worked hand in hand with the Salafists and turned into a Salafist. He hosted Yasser Borhami, a top Salafist, in his house on the eve of the elections for coordination purposes.”