Islamic parties dominate in new Egyptian parliament

JTA

JERUSALEM—The fundamentalist Islamic political party the Muslim Brotherhood won 47 percent of the seats in the new Egyptian Parliament.

An alliance of ultraconservative Islamist parties, the Salafi Al-Nour, also won 25 percent of the vote in the first parliamentary elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was deposed nearly one year ago.

The leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Badia, said over the weekend that his party would respect the peace agreement with Israel, “but that all international agreements that Egypt has signed will be re-examined.”

The parliament will now appoint the 100 members of a Constitutional Assembly, the New York Times reported. A constitution is expected to be ratified in June, when a president is also set to be elected.

The Salafi Al-Nour wants to impose strict Islamic law in Egypt.