A former community relations director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) promises to "complete the implementation of Islamic law in Egypt" if elected its president.

Bassem Khafaji, who was deported from the United States in 2003 after pleading guilty to bank and visa fraud, hopes to win the backing of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party.

In an excerpt of a speech last week translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Khafaji said that, "as a Muslim Egyptian, I am convinced of (the need to) complete the implementation of Islamic law in Egypt. I do not hide this truth in any way, because it is in keeping with the inclination of the Egyptian people."

Events from marriages to deaths already are conducted in accordance with sharia law, he said. "What the Egyptian people want is to complete this implementation. As president, I will personally assist in the completion of the correct implementation of the shari'a, by consulting the experts (in Islamic law). "

That's certainly consistent with Muslim Brotherhood ideology. Since enjoying dramatic electoral success in Egypt's first parliamentary elections since Hosni Mubarak's ouster last year, Brotherhood officials have made several statements about restoring a caliphate, or global Islamic state.