On
30 August, Egypt’s Parliament approved a controversial new law governing the
building and renovation of churches by a two-thirds majority, following four hours of at
times impassioned debate.
Although
the new law fulfils a constitutional commitment to pass legislation regulating
the sensitive issue of church construction and renovation, it has been
criticised by a number of Coptic MPs, who claim it is “restrictive” and was
“imposed on Christians”.
Previously,
permission for building a new church could only be granted through presidential
decree, which occurred once every year or every other year. Under the new law
applications will be submitted to and decided by the relevant provincial governor.
During
the debate on the new legislation, criticism was particularly levelled at vague
provisions stipulating that the size of any new church must be in proportion
with the number of Christians in the surrounding neighbourhood and that
population growth must also be taken into account. Another ambiguous
stipulation requires provincial governors to consider “the preservation of
security and public order” when deciding on an application.
While
some Coptic MPs, such as Ms Margaret Azer, welcomed the new legislation as a
“progressive step, even though it still includes some negative points”, others,
such as Mr Emad Gad, said it was “restrictive and will still make it hard for
Christians to build churches easily”. He also told the Al-Shorouk newspaper
that the government has not shown any will to eradicate sectarian tensions in
the country.
Sectarian
attacks continue to occur in Egypt whenever Christian communities are suspected
of using homes or other buildings as places of worship. CSW recently
reported on a spike in the frequency of these attacks, largely in the
Governorates of Upper Egypt, where false rumours of Christian properties being
used as churches have resulted in damage or destruction.
Christian
Solidarity Worldwide’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “While we welcome
the efforts of Egyptian lawmakers to fulfil the constitutional commitment for a
new law governing construction and renovation of churches as a step towards
ensuring freedom of religion and equality for the Christian community, we share
the concerns about the legislation in its current form. The ambiguous
prerequisites for church construction are not seen in legislation pertaining to
other places of worship. Not only do these expansive caveats provide ample
grounds on which to refuse applications; but final permission for any
construction or renovation also lies in the hands of governors who are
potentially vulnerable to the demands of those opposed to any church presence
in their area. The Egyptian Parliament must press for a stronger law governing
the construction of all places of worship. This would ensure equality of
citizenship for all Egyptians and send a strong signal to anyone seeking to
divide the country along sectarian lines.”