Egypt Islamists Pledge Oversight Role For Clerics

CAIRO (AP) — A group of ultraconservative Muslim clerics says the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential hopeful has promised to give clerics power to oversee legislation in Egypt.

The promise came when Brotherhood candidate Khairat el-Shater met a panel of hard-line Salafi scholars and clerics, trying to win support in next month’s presidential election. El-Shater wants to avert a rift in the Islamist ranks between multiple candidates and unite them behind himself.

The panel, called the Jurisprudence Commission for Rights and Reform, says in a Wednesday posting on its Facebook page that el-Shater said that, if elected, he would form a council of clerics to review legislation to ensure it adheres to Islamic Shariah law. A Brotherhood spokesman could not immediately confirm the offer.