We had the parliamentary session playing in the background yesterday. The same old flurry of heated, but always chaotic, debate to which no one was really paying attention. And then it happened; amidst the shouting voices discussing politics, economics and the largely unsafe streets of Egypt, there he was, Salafi member of the Parliament Mamdouh Ismail standing up and proceeding to call for prayers.
I thought someone flipped the channel, but no, it was the azan (call to prayers) being chanted in the middle of the Egyptian parliamentary session among dropped jaws and surprised looks.

Saad El Katatny, speaker of the People's Assembly, asked Ismail to sit down and respect the rules of the session — again. He was already making headlines when he became the first Salafi to tweak the parliamentary oath each member has to swear to specify he would only follow the law and regulations so long as they do not oppose the Islamic Shari’ah (jurisdiction). Which understanding of the Islamic Shari’ah he is planning to follow is a different story.

The way I see it, Ismail’s action is a religious blackmail PR stunt, to be quite frank. This isn’t anything against prayers or practicing Islam; I am a practicing Muslim who is well aware of my religion’s rules and guidelines. But for Ismail to stand in the middle of the session, with no introductions whatsoever, and chant a call, he is obviously making a statement.

It isn’t really about bringing attention to the time of prayer, I am sure all members of the Parliament heard the call for prayers from nearby mosques; much like anywhere else in the city of over a thousand minarets. It wasn’t really necessary for Ismail to announce it; he was clearly putting on a show.

Many of those who voted for the Salafi Nour Party did so because they saw in their candidates a hope for honest representatives, being seemingly pious. Ismail, in my mind, is simply keeping in line with the image he, along with other candidates, drew for themselves. et