Politics reshapes charity meals in post-Mubarak Egypt

Street charity banquets, a time-honoured feature of the Muslim holy month of Ramazan, are evolving into a kind of political tug-of-war this year. Until last year, senior politicians and businessmen from deposed leader Hosny Mubarak's National Democratic Party would host the largest banquets to provide free meals to the poor and those who could not be at home to have a fast-breaking meal with the family.
This year, bracing for the first parliamentary elections since the end of the Mubarak era, Egypt's Islamists and liberals are vying to use the Iftar feasts - which come at nightfall as Muslims break their dawn-to-dusk fasting - in the hopes of drawing people into their fold.
In Cairo's working class district of Sayeda Zeinab, Fathi Sorour, a senior Mubarak associate, hosted a big banquet every Ramadan for the past 20 years. Now the Islamists, including the influential Muslim Brotherhood, have stepped in. No longer worried about the security crackdowns that forced them to operate on more discreet levels in Egypt's streets during the Mubarak years, they are providing free meals every evening.
Sorour, an ex-speaker of the Egyptian parliament, is meanwhile in a prison on the outskirts of Cairo and is to stand trial later this month for alleged corruption. "The Muslim Brotherhood and Salfists (ultra-conservative Muslims) are organising Iftar banquets to court the people ahead of the coming elections later this year," Ahmed Baha Eddin Shabaan, a member of the protest group Kefaya, told dpa.
To him, these banquets are an "affront to the Egyptians' dignity. The revolution against the Mubarak regime was staged in order to establish social justice and equality," he said. "The continuation of this practice means that the revolution has not achieved all of its objectives." "In most cases," said Shaaban, "Iftar banquets are organised by people with specific goals and interests, from politicians to drug dealers."
Apparently worried that Islamic powers will take advantage of Ramazan to boost their street clout, Egypt's liberals and secularists are out to achieve counterbalance. The Free Egyptians, a nascent political party co-founded by Christian business mogul Naguib Sawiris, is hosting Iftar banquets to promote its liberal platform.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has been in control of Egypt since Mubarak's ouster, is also reported to be funding similar banquets in several governorates of the nation to allegedly earn the trust of Egyptians after waves of protests erupted against its 'caretaker' role in Egypt's transitional phase.
Keeping an annual tradition, the Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque in the upmarket Cairo quarter of Mohandessin, is offering free meals throughout Ramazan. For the most part, the poor patrons of these banquets are not concerned about either the identities or the political agenda of those funding the banquets. "We don't know who is paying for the food and don't care," said Hassan Ahmad Awad, a 50-year-old worker.
Sayeda Mohamed, a mother of two who has cleaned homes for a living ever since her husband's death, usually comes to get a free meal. According to Hani Abdel Razeq, a public relations official in the mosque, the main problems this year are a lack of security and the rise in prices of food. "This has caused a drop in donations and consequently meals put on the tables for the poor," he told dpa.
This Ramazan, the Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque is the only place in the neighbourhood offering charity food, said Abdel Razeq. Moustafa Mahmoud Square has been the meeting point for Mubarak loyalists to counter opposition demonstrations in Tahrir Square since February. "In the past, wealthy people used to organise other charity banquets in the area, but they are now afraid because they have no one to protect them from pro-Mubarak thugs," added Abdel Razeq.