Egypt's Salafist Nour Party on Tuesday proposed a three-point plan aimed at ending the country's current political crisis.
According to party chairman Youssef Makhioun, the plan calls for legislation regulating marches and demonstrations; a 'national reconciliation' initiative aimed at ending recent political violence; and improvements to how the administration of President Mohamed Morsi deals with the media.
At a Tuesday press conference, Makhioun stressed that "there is no alternative to dialogue," calling on all parties involved in the crisis to engage in negotiations.
The Salafist party chief went on to reference Prophet Mohamed's decision to enter talks with his enemies, adding that, "in this case, we are not enemies…why should we not sit together and discuss things openly without preconditions?"
Former presidential contender Hamdeen Sabbahi welcomed Nour's initiative via Twitter, noting its similarity with proposals tabled by the opposition National Salvation Front (NSF), of which he is a leading member.
The Nour Party's proposal comes amid escalating nationwide violence between protesters and police that erupted on the second anniversary of Egypt's January 25 Revolution and which has left at least 50 people dead.
A 'national dialogue' meeting attended by several political figures called for by President Mohamed Morsi took place on Monday. It was attended by the Muslim Brotherhood, the Nour Party, the ultra-conservative Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya movement and Brotherhood-offshoot the Wasat Party.
The NSF, for its part, shunned Monday's dialogue meeting.
The meeting resulted in an agreement to form several committees, one of which will be tasked with studying possible amendments to Egypt's newly-passed constitution.
