Al-Wasat Party
Political party in Egypt

New Center Party
حزب الوسط الجديد
Hizb al-Wasat al-Jadid
PresidentMohamed Abdel Latif (acting)[1]
Abou Elela Mady
Vice-PresidentEssam Sultan
Vice-PresidentMohamed Mahsoub
Secretary-GeneralMohammed Abdul-Latif
SpokespersonAmr Farouk
Founded1996 (1996)
Legalized19 February 2011
Split fromMuslim Brotherhood in Egypt[2]
Headquarters8 Pearl St., Mokattam, Cairo
Membership (2011)5.088[3]
IdeologyIslamic democracy[4]
Political positionCentre[5]
ColorsMaroon
Sloganالوطن قبل الوسط
Motherland before Al-wasat
House of Representatives
0 / 568

The al-Wasat Party (Arabic: حزب الوسط, romanized: Hizb al-Wasat), translated in English as the Center Party, is a moderate Islamist political party in Egypt.[6]

History

Foundation

The party was founded by Abou Elela Mady in 1996,[7] which Mady accused of having "narrow political horizons." The creation of al-Wasat was criticized by the Brotherhood, which said Mady was trying to split the movement.[8] It was also not well received by the Egyptian government, which brought its founders before a military court on the charge of setting up a party as an Islamist front.

Al-Wasat tried to gain an official license four times between 1996 and 2009, but its application was rejected each time by the political parties committee, which was chaired by a leading member of the ruling National Democratic Party.[8] Political parties formed on the basis of religion have been banned by the Egyptian constitution since an amendment to Article 5 was approved in 2007.[9]

Recognition

Al-Wasat was granted official recognition on 19 February 2011 after a court in Cairo approved its establishment. The court's ruling was handed down in the wake of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, and made al-Wasat the first new party to gain official status after the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.[10] Its newly acquired official status allowed al-Wasat to compete in the next parliamentary election, and made it the first legal party in Egypt with an Islamic background.[11][12]

2011/2012 parliamentary election

The party initially was part of the Democratic Alliance for Egypt, though it left in October 2011[13] and later allied with the Renaissance Party and the Pioneer Party, both of which were also offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood,[14] and won 10 seats. [15]

Post-coup d'etat

The leader of the party, Abou Elela Mady, as well as deputy head Essam Sultan, were detained following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.[16] Elela Mady was released in August 2015.[17]

The party withdrew from the Anti-Coup Alliance on 28 August 2014.[18] A court case was brought forth to dissolve the party,[19] though the Alexandria Urgent Matters Court ruled on 26 November 2014 that it lacked jurisdiction.[20]

Ideology

According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, al-Wasat "seeks to interpret Islamic sharia principles in a manner consistent with the values of a liberal democratic system. Although al-Wasat advocates a political system that is firmly anchored in Islamic law, it also views sharia principles as flexible and wholly compatible with the principles of pluralism and equal citizenship rights."[5] The party's manifesto accepts the right of a Christian to become head of state in a Muslim-majority country.[11] Its founder Mady likens its ideology to that of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP).[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "حزب الوسط: مظاهرات 28 نوفمبر خطوة غير موفقة ولننشارك فيها". Youm7. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World: Exploring the Gray Zones" (PDF). Herbert Quandt Stiftung. 2006. p. 18.
  3. ^ "Länderbericht Parteienmonitor Ägypten 2011" (PDF) (in German). Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. 27 November 2011. p. 3. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. ^ The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, "Egypt Elections: al-Wasat (Center Party)" Archived 30 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 January 2012
  5. ^ a b Shaimaa el-Karanshawi (19 February 2011). "Egypt court approves moderate Islamic party". Almasry Alyoum. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  6. ^ Egypt Elections – Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, Guide to Egypt's Transition, "Al-Wasat (Center Party)". Archived 30 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 31 January 2012
  7. ^ Dina Shehata (March 2012). "Mapping Islamic Actors in Egypt" (PDF). Islam Research Program. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  8. ^ a b c Sarah Mikhail; Tom Perry (19 February 2011). "New party shows deep political change in new Egypt". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Constitutional Amendments of 2007" (PDF). Cabinet of Egypt. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  10. ^ Tom Perry (19 February 2011). "After 15-year wait, Egypt's Wasat Party approved". Reuters. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Egypt court approves country's first Islamic party". Indo-Asian News Service. 19 February 2011. Archived from the original (Reprint) on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  12. ^ "Egypt licenses first moderate Islamic party". The Jerusalem Post. 19 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  13. ^ "Wasat Party". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  14. ^ "Al-Wasat Party". 18 November 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  15. ^ "Egypt's post-Mubarak legislative life begins amid tension and divisions". 23 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Wasat Party initially boycotting constitutional referendums". Daily News Egypt. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Pro-Morsi political leader Abul-Ela Madi released from jail". Ahram Online. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Wasat Party withdraws from NASL, considers parliamentary elections: Source". Cairo Post. 28 August 2014. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  19. ^ Yussef Auf (25 November 2014). "Political Islam's Fate in Egypt Lies in the Hands of the Courts". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  20. ^ "Court claims no jurisdiction over religiously affiliated parties". Daily News Egypt. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.

Further reading

  • Norton, Augustus Richard (2005). "Thwarted Politics: The Case of Egypt's Hizb al-Wasat". In Robert Hefner (ed.). Remaking Muslim Politics: Pluralism, Contestation, and Democratization (PDF). Princeton University Press. pp. 133–60. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  • Wickham, Carrie Rosefsky (January 2004). "The Path to Moderation: Strategy and Learning in the Formation of Egypt's Wasat Party". Comparative Politics. 36 (2): 205–228. doi:10.2307/4150143. JSTOR 4150143.
  • https://twitter.com/Alwasatpartyeg
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