Al-Nour Party

Saudi Arabia was found to be the main financer of the party according to the public German television news service ARD.

The Islamist Bloc, of which al-Nour was a member, gained 127 of the 498 parliamentary seats contested,[3] second-place after the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.

[11] The Salafi Al‑Nour reportedly did well in the parliamentary election (111 seats), in part because of loyalty it won from voters with the many Salafi-sponsored charitable activities: help for the sick and the poor; financial assistance to widows, divorcées, and young women in need of marriage trousseaus; and abundant religious instruction.

[12] In the 2012 presidential election, Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, who while not officially affiliated with the party was considered to be the candidate of the Salafi movement, was disqualified to run.

Without any clear Salafi candidate, the al-Nour Party settled on moderate Islamist Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh on 28 April 2012.

[6] Some of the reasons given for the party's poor performance were the closure of mosques (a common gathering place and "the main sphere of activity for the Salafists") due to Covid, "hostile propaganda" from their cousin Islamists, the Muslim Brotherhood, anger over Salafist cooperation with Sisi, and very low voter turnout in the first election (14%) and runoff (10.25%).

[32][independent source needed] The party has stated it is committed to the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty as a binding international agreement and would be willing to hold negotiations with Israel.

Specifically, an al‑Nour spokesman stated, "We call for full Sinai rights for Egypt and for our brothers in Palestine and occupied lands, and we see this as directly related to the agreement.

"[35] Al‑Nour Party had stated in September 2012 that it would not oppose a loan from the International Monetary Fund to the Egyptian government, although Islamic law bans the paying of interest.

The party argued that the loan is vital to Egypt's economy in the current period and that there is no other alternative, citing the Islamic saying "Necessities permit what is banned".

[36] However, the party had changed opinion in February 2013, saying the IMF loan agreement requires an approval from a body of senior scholars at Al-Azhar University.

[37] The party's members suggested other alternatives to foreign borrowing such as reforming subsidy system, dispensing with highly paid advisers and offering Sukuk (financial certificates) that Islamic financing experts claim will attract billions of pounds to the country.