Islamic Jihad factions supporting Shafiq

In an unprecedented move, several factions of the Islamic Jihad movement announced their support for presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential elections run-off round.  The announcement was made during a conference on Tuesday evening, in the Ibn Khaldun Centre for Development Studies, for the formation of a new party called the Democratic Jihad Party.  Sabra Ibrahim, the party's deputy founder, said the party was a moderate current that lay between Islamist and Liberal radicalism. It is significantly popular among some of Egypt's Coptic Christians, although the party is based on Islam. He explained that Copts have the right to run for higher and leading positions in the party, right up to its presidency.  Sabra said that a number of the factions' members renounce their extremist principles and were "seeking to enter society in a peaceful and constructive manner". He also said that the leaders of Islamic Jihad refused to join the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political branch the Muslim Brotherhood, however they agreed to join the Free Egyptians Party, although the latter said it was too early to practice political work with the organisation. Yasser Saad, an Islamic Jihad leader, said that he supports the prospect of a civilian state, which is reflected in the second round of the presidential elections in which Shafiq is running. "The Brotherhood claim they respect rights of citizenship, which is not true...the ideology of the Brotherhood is a threat that may lead to the division of Egypt," said Saad.