Egypt officially for the first time since the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) inception nearly 80 years ago declared the powerful political organization legal. Egyptian election commission approved the formation of the MB’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) yesterday after MB announced the FJP on April 30.

The party is set to challenge for half the parliament seats in the September elections. The MB was founded in 1928 and was officially banned in Egypt in 1954. MB chairman Dr. Mohamed Badie told the press that he is happy with the acceptance of the FJP and called the party members to advocate for a civil state that promote Islamic values.

A Gallup poll released Sunday suggests that only a small minority of the people support the MB however, the poll showed that 69 percent of the people were in favor of religious leaders having an advisory role in the government.

Report by Reuben