Egypt Salafist party leader defends decision to back Sisi
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Nader Bakkar, the deputy chairman for media affairs of Egypt's Salafist Nour Party, takes stock after the election of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as president.
CAIRO — “Our party is being subjected to widespread criticism aimed at undermining the party and its members," Nader Bakkar, the deputy chairman for media affairs of Egypt's Nour Party, told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview at its headquarters in Cairo.
"But we will not get caught in side battles, we will focus on our work in the streets and with the citizens,” Bakkar said, responding to those who have criticized the Islamic Nour Party for supporting Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for president.
Boycotting the elections would have been a "weak and non-influential choice," Bakkar said, adding that, "We had no other choice but to support one of them."
When asked about any connections to armed Salafi groups in the Sinai Peninsula and elsewhere, Bakkar said, "There are no communications whatsoever between the Nour Party and any armed groups on the Egyptian borders."
