42 CultureShock! Egypt
The judiciary in Egypt is generally credited with conducting
fair trials. However, under the Emergency Law, cases involving
terrorism and national security may be tried in military or
state security courts in which the accused do not receive all
the constitutional protections of the judicial system. During
1996, most terrorist cases were referred to Supreme State
Security Emergency Courts; high-profile cases involving
Muslim Brotherhood members and a large number of
terrorists went to military courts. (More about the Muslim
Brotherhood later in this chapter, page 48.)
Egypt’s political system is based on a multiparty system
within the framework of what is considered ‘acceptable
socially responsible parameters’. The National Democratic
Party (NDP) is the dominant party. Despite a constitutional
ban against religiously-based parties, the technically illegal
Muslim Brotherhood constitutes a significant influence.Economy
Egypt’s principal sources of revenue are from the Suez Canal,
agriculture, textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals,
petroleum, construction, cement and metals. Tourism
passed petroleum as the second largest hard currency earner
in 1995. After a slight dip in tourist visits in 2001 (about