Experts: Al-Nour Salafist Party poorly rated in Egypt

Cairo – Several experts on political Islam have studied the phenomenon of Salafi engagement in political life. One case in point tends to stand out from all the other, which is the Salafist-defined Nour Party (also known as Hizb an-Nour i.e. ‘Party of the Light’).
Experts have reached many conclusions on the true nature of the Party, most prominently is that the Party lacks the necessary political experience enough to take part in the political and decision-making processes in Egypt.   
Additionally, the Party cannot affect change or whatsoever in Egypt as manifested in past experiments, such as Muslim Brotherhood’s debacle in governance, which makes the party’s chances in politics even limited.
That’s why the party has kept an extremely low-profile in terms of its popularity and favorability with Egyptians.
In a lengthy research, Ehab Nafie, a scholar of Islamism, tries to deconstruct the “Salafi ideology”. He observed that the Party adopts a doctrine that is “non-pluralistic, partisan and ultra-conservative and, above all, reactionary” underpinned on “blind obedience” within the Party’s hierarchal spectrum.  Salafis adhere to a strict and literal interpretation of the Qur’an and Hadith, seeking a return to the authentic practices and beliefs of the pious ancestors, the salaf al-salih, including the Prophet Muhammad and his companions.
The Nour Party is directly subject to the authority of one strong man, Sheikh Yasser Borhamy, who enjoys full obedience from the party members, wields much influence on the decision-making and represents the party’s leadership everywhere.
In January 2013 the Party underwent a dramatic overhaul. Another party originated or, more bluntly, split, from the flagship party.  Emad Abdel-Ghafour, who resigned as head of Salafist Nour Party, announced the launch of a new al-Watan (i.e. Homeland) party. The splinter group—who is opposed to Borhamy’s policies and rigid decisions—apparently came into being as a backlash against Borhamiy’s absolutism in rule.
In late 2013, the Nour Party decided to back Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who was then Minister of Defense, against Muslim Brotherhood in the aftermath of June 30 Uprising (that toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi). This caused the Party to emerge from the scene as strong as it had never before, with largest independent base of support.
The Nour Party’s decision to side with Egypt has been crucial in shielding the party and its Islamic activism by extension, from the kind of witch-hunt that was unleashed against the Muslim Brotherhood and that forced the group underground.
The Party is trying to survive a number of challenges to its political legitimacy from secularist groups who widely see Salafis as traitors, personae non gratae, or even complicit in the uptick in terrorism-related incident across the country.
The Party has proven effective in securing its current monopoly on Islamically-inspired politics. This has diminished party’s power especially after the political upheavals in Egypt that many tend to accuse Religious-induced Parties of causing them.  
Anyhow, experts rule out the possibility that the Party would evolve into political activism die to its unwillingness to adopt or accept alien ideas, making it a “change-proof” entity.