Egypt’s El-Sisi Says He Won’t Allow Religious Leadership to Form Parallel to State
by News Editor
Ynet/AP – Abdel-Fatah el-Sisi, Egypt’s former military chief who is poised to win the presidency in elections later this month, said in an interview aired Sunday that he said he would not allow a religious leadership, which is how he said his ousted rivals the Muslim Brotherhood tried to present itself, to exist in parallel to the state and its religious institutions.
El-Sisi was speaking with the Emirates-based Sky News Arabia, giving his first televised interview as a presidential candidate to foreign media. The first part of the interview was broadcast Sunday. Riding on a wave of nationalist fervor, the 59-year old al-Sisi faces a single rival in the May 26-27 vote. The media and supporters tout him as the nation’s savior for ousting the elected Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, in July following massive rallies against him and a rising specter of civilian infighting.