Islamists promote Egypt tourism

Egypt's major Islamist parties are promoting tourism Egypt's major Islamist parties are promoting tourism to the country in a bid to allay fears that religious conservatism could hurt the lucrative industry. The Freedom and Justice Party - the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood - and the Al-Nur, the ultra-conservative party which represents the Salafi branch of Islam, are both launching conferences to explore opportunities to improve tourism.
The announcements come after some fundamentalist candidates advocated destroying ancient monuments in order to prevent 'idolatry'.
Egypt's Red Sea resorts and historic monuments attracted 15million visitors last year, but its tourism industry is worried that the imposition of strict Islamic law could put off future holidaymakers, destroying one of the country's main money-earners.
Some candidates and scholars have spoken about segregating beaches and banning bikinis and alcohol.
Islamist parties won by a landslide during the first stage of parliamentary elections.
Al-Nur's spokesperson Nader Bakkar denied the party wanted to 'ban tourism', but did advocate segregation on beaches.
Around 1,000 Egyptians rallied near the ancient pyramids on Friday to protest against what they said were threats to undermine tourism.
'Islamist individuals who see the world in black and white are a real danger to this country,' said Khaled Touni, 35, a guide who studied Egyptology, Islamic and Coptic history.
'We demand that each party, whether Islamist or mainstream, announce what is its program for enhancing tourism before parliament convenes,' he added.
Anger was directed at Abdel Moneim el-Shahat, who is highly popular among Egypt's Salafis and who has questioned the moral integrity of priceless ancient statues that dot the country.
Shahat, who failed to win a seat in an electoral run off, denied the statues should be smashed, but suggested they could be covered with wax.
'People would be able to see through wax,' he told Dream Television.
Tourism is Egypt's top foreign currency earner, accounting for over a tenth of gross domestic product and employing an estimated one in eight of the workforce.
However, the number of tourists visiting Egypt dropped by more than a third in the second quarter of 2011 compared to last year and the protesting tour guides fear the crowds will stay away while uncertainty lingers.
'Not all the Islamist currents are to blame, but some individuals, like el Shahat among others, have said ridiculous things,' said Hassan Nahla, a tour guide for 11 years.
'The point of the revolution is to improve every sector and every aspect of Egyptian society, including tourism... tourism can be developed. But these people are speaking about destroying it,' he added.