[ 2011-12-02 ]

Rich Egyptians weigh emigration as Islamists surge
CAIRO (AFP) - For decades, Egypt's Westernised
elite kept the country's growing religosity at
arm's length, but a projected Islamist surge in
the first post-revolution polls has driven many to
think of moving abroad.

Sporting the latest fashions and mingling in
upmarket country clubs, Egypt's rich fear a
victory for the Muslim Brotherhood and hardline
Salafis in the first phase of parliamentary
elections presages change ahead.

"I hope they don't impose the veil and ban women
from driving like in Saudi Arabia," said
coquettish fifty-something Naglaa Fahmi from her
gym in the leafy neighbourhood of Zamalek.

In a nearby luxury hotel, Nardine -- one of
Egypt's eight million Coptic Christians who are
alarmed by the prospect of a new
Islamist-dominated parliament -- is pondering a
move aroad.

"My father is seriously thinking about sending me
and my brothers elsewhere because he thinks we
won't have a future in the country with the
Salafis," said the banker in her twenties.

Ten months after a popular uprising ended the
30-year autocratic rule of Hosni Mubarak, millions
of Egyptians embraced their new democratic
freedoms earlier this week at the start of
multi-stage parliamentary elections.

The preliminary results to be published on Friday
were expected to show the moderate Muslim
Brotherhood as the dominant force, but with a
surprisingly strong showing from the hardline
Al-Nur party.

Its leaders advocate the fundamentalist brand of
Salafi Islam, rejecting Western culture and
favouring strict segregation of the sexes and the
veiling of women.

They say they have been the victims of
Islamophobia and sustained fear-mongering by
liberals in the Egyptian media.

Nevertheless, the fear that they will try to
impose their values on the rest of society has
driven Angie to consider leaving her comfortable
Cairo life behind.

"My husband recently got a job offer in Dubai. In
the beginning I was hesitant, but now, with all
that's happening, I'm encouraging him to take the
job and I'll join him with our daughter," she
said.

"The Gulf has become more liberal than Egypt," she
told AFP.

For Ahmed Gabri, having the Islamists in power
means having his freedoms restricted.

"I will leave the country," said Gabri, a Muslim.
"I will not stand living in a puritanical climate.
Why don't they just let people live the way they
want?"

The next parliament will be charged with writing a
new constitution and the idea of an
Islamist-dominated assembly has sent shockwaves
through some segments of society.

Many stress the difference, however, between the
different Islamist groups.

"They don't scare me. We have democracy now which
means we'll be able to remove them if they don't
suit us," said Manar, a tall blonde in her 40s.

"It's the not the Muslim Brotherhood that worries
me because they want to appear in the best light,
it's the Salafis that I'm concerned about," she
said.

Iman Ragab, a shop assistant, has resigned herself
to the election's likely outcome.

"This is democracy, you have to accept the results
of the ballot," she said.

Source - AFP

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