"The Copts are our partners and enjoy as equal rights and duties as Muslims," Eryan said.

CAIRO, November 23, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood has supported Coptic candidates in the parliamentary elections, one of the group's leaders told IslamOnline.net, maintaining that the group views the Copts as partners of the homeland and enjoy as equal rights and duties as Egyptian Muslims.

"The Muslim Brotherhood has supported non-Muslim candidates for parliament," Issam El-Aryan told IslamOnline.net's online radio Tuesday, November 22.

"The Copts are our partners and enjoy as equal rights and duties as Muslims and have the right to run for parliamentary polls and ministerial and public posts."

Winning 34 seats in the first phase of the legislative polls, the Muslim Brotherhood emerged as the frontrunner in the second round, grabbing 13 other seats.

The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) – headed by incumbent President Hosni Mubarak – won only six seats and the remaining three went to independents.

So far, the group has won 47 seats, compared with 15 in the outgoing parliament, showing the weight of political Islam as Egypt's strongest opposition force.

Forty-one other MB candidates are also contesting a run-off Saturday, November 26, out of a total 59 candidates named by the group in the second round.

El-Aryan said that the group has already backed Coptic candidates in the parliamentary polls.

"The group supported a Coptic candidate in the Wadi Al-Natroun constituency, but the candidate preferred not to show the MB support."

He maintained that the group either abstained from fielding candidates or withdrew candidates from running against Coptic runners.

"The Muslim Brotherhood had not fielded candidates in the Waili (Cairo) and Ghorbal (Alexandria) constituencies against Coptic candidates Munir Fakhri Abdul Nour and Maher Khillah."

The two Christian contenders had lost the polls.

Aryan added that the group had fielded a Coptic candidate, Dr. Refaat Kamel, in the 1990 legislative polls.

"After an initial approval from the candidate, the candidate had refused to run on the group's list and failed to win the polls," he said.

On Tuesday, Magdy Mehanna of Al Masry Al Youm newspaper said that the group had supported Coptic candidate Mona Makram Ubeid in the first round of the polls.

"A MB leader had told Ubeid over phone that the group would not field candidates to run against her in appreciation to her and family's national role."

The Brotherhood leader urged the Egyptian Copts to play a more active role in the Egyptian political process.

"We hope to see Muslim voters elect Coptic candidates and Muslim runners elected by Coptic voters."

So far only one Coptic candidate, NDP heavyweight and finance minister Youssef Butros-Ghali, has won a seat in the legislative polls.

No Coptic candidate appeared in a favorable position to win a seat in the remaining rounds of polling.

Many Copts fear that the Brotherhood, which has displayed great political acumen and flexibility during the campaign, will adopt to hard-line policies if it seizes power.

In an article published Wednesday, November 23, on British daily The Guardian, Khairat El-Shatir is vice-president of the group sought to allay fears over the MB's stands on democracy, civil rule, Copts and other issues. (Click to read El-Shater's article on The Guardian)

The Muslim Brotherhood is legally banned but largely tolerated as the strongest de facto opposition power in Egypt.