Mansour endorses charter in speech for Prophet’s birthday

Interim President Adly Mansour called for Egyptians to ratify the draft constitution in the referendum this week, vowing to the Prophet, “We will protect our brains from extremist ideologies,” in his address Sunday marking the Prophet’s birthday.

Mansour said that Tuesday, Egyptians would vote on a constitution that upholds the principles of Sharia and establishes a modern state.

“I urge you to head to the polls and build a future fit for your country, and vote honestly to help the nation ship dock safely,” he said.

The president called on people to mobilize, “like we did on January 25 and June 30 to complete our revolution as we intended it to be, with a constitution that will mark the first step towards a democratic, civil and modern state.”

He said that ratifying the constitution would pave the way for serious steps towards achieving democracy, whereby Egypt would have an elected president and parliament fulfilling the principles of Islam by modern definition.

Mansour drew references from the Quran and Hadith (Prophet’s sayings), warning against extremism and advocating moderation. 

From the Quran he quoted, “Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land, it is as if he had slain mankind entirely, and whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely,” adding that there are some who are not aware of the true definition of Islam and the prophet’s teachings.

Mansour suggested such people misinterpret religion and dismiss the sanctity of blood, replacing Sharia and the Sunnah with extremist ideas. 

“Our country is under attack, internally and externally,” Mansour warned, adding that security forces would be firm in dealing with such attacks until stability is restored.

He lauded the police and the Armed Forces, to much applause, and reiterated his support for preachers and imams who are “fighting regression,” promising to provide them with an environment in which they would be able to play their part in maintaining moderate religious discourse.