Egypt - Muslim Brotherhood delivers Statement on Islamic Law and National Identity.

Egypt - Muslim Brotherhood delivers Statement on Islamic Law and National Identity.(IW).The Muslim Brotherhood was founded for the purpose of reviving the spirit of Islam and awakening faith in the hearts of society at large, recognizing that this is the way for the nation to rise again, to restore its historical position and vital role and achieve its duty.
Hassan Al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, identified the group’s mission as: guiding all humanity to the good ways and enlightening teachings of Islam, without which mankind will not attain happiness.
There is no doubt that Islamic Sharia is the most important component of the Egyptian personality, and the most important determinant of the Egyptian identity, since it is for Muslims the true faith and religion, and for non-Muslims it is culture and equal citizenship.
Sharia is a comprehensive way of life that seeks to create good individuals and patriotic citizens who love their homeland, are faithful to their fellow nationals, and want to offer all they could to the people around them.
The system of Sharia is based on several fundamental principles that tell it apart from all man-made law systems. Contrary to western rumors, Sharia is based on leniency rather than severity, putting public interest above the individual’s, favoring ‘averting evil’ over ‘bringing benefits’, and achieving balance between the rights of the individual and society, as well as many other Sharia principles that are bound to guarantee security, prosperity and stability for societies, should the law be based on them.
To protect this civilized society, created by Sharia, the penal system is the embodiment of utmost justice and precision. No-one is punished, except for a definite crime, after first preparing society to understand and accept Sharia, which would be applied in a careful gradual approach, in order to achieve its purposes indispensable to man and society: to safeguard faith, mind and soul, as well as private property and money, so as to ultimately achieve psychological and physical security in society.
Sharia safeguards the rights of non-Muslims, granting them the full right to practice rites of their faith and referring to their own religious rules for their personal and private affairs. This made the late Pope Shenouda say: "Copts under Sharia will be happier and safer than ever… We are eager to live by the principle ‘we share the same rights and duties’".
Since the Constitution is the fundamental basis through which laws are made, and it includes basic principles of relations between the various authorities, and defines the rights of citizens and guarantees citizenship rights, the Muslim Brotherhood have always made sure Sharia takes its appropriate place in the Constitution, so as to help Parliament to codify Islamic laws in the most dynamic ways possible.
That is why Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution states that the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation. Agreement has been reached among all political parties and stakeholders to add an article in the General Provisions chapter to state that "the principles of Islamic Sharia include general bases as well as main bases of jurisprudence and sources accepted by main Sunni scholars".
General Bases include all instructions, rules and commandments specifically mentioned in Quran and in the authenticated traditions of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
Main Bases of Jurisprudence include rules derived from the undisputed general Islamic bases which also serve the purposes of Islamic law.
Sources Accepted by Main Sunni Scholars include the Quran, the traditions of the Prophet (PBUH), scholar consensus and analogy (comparison with precedents).
This new Article in modern post-revolution Egypt’s new charter puts an end to all arguments raging on regarding the full interpretation of Sharia principles.
On family and women, article 68 states equality between men and women without prejudice to the provisions of Islamic law; so international treaties that call for violating Sharia in any way cannot achieve such purposes, like attempts to legalize homosexuality or sexual relations outside wedlock, and so on. 
The draft document also includes many Sharia legal principles, like article 71 on the prohibition of all forms of human trafficking, slavery, prostitution, forced labor and human rights violations. Additionally, there are many articles in the draft constitution to protect rights and freedoms, all of which are derived from and are compatible with the principles of Islamic Sharia.Read the full story here.