Presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq hit hard at the Muslim Brotherhood on two fronts Sunday, warning that an Islamist victory will lead to terrorizing Christians and accusing the Brotherhood of trying to make “Palestine" the central issue for Egyptians.
Shafiq was a close aide to ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and the Brotherhood took the offensive after Saturday’s life sentence for Mubarak, instead of death, and the acquittal of his two sons regarding their involvement in the murder of hundreds of protesters last year.
Egyptians will go the polls in two weeks to vote for Shafiq or Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi.
In an unusually sharp attack, Shafiq accused the Brotherhood of acting as if “Palestine is the capital of Egypt.” He said that Egyptians face several domestic issues that should not be overshadowed by the status of the Palestinian Authority, whose Hamas faction was founded by the Brotherhood.
“Don’t let the Muslim Brotherhood control Egypt and take it to the dark ages," Shafiq declared.
"I represent a secular state... the Brotherhood represents a sectarian state. I represent progress and light, they represent backwardness and darkness," he said.