Egyptian Court Reinstates Order Directing Coptic Church To Allow Remarriages

In Egypt on Tuesday, the State Council's Administrative Court rejected a challenge by the Coptic Church to the court's ruling last May that ordered the Church to allow divorced men to remarry even though the remarriage was not permitted under Coptic Christian religious law. Coptic doctrine allows men to remarry only in cases of adultery or a marriage that was based on deceit. The Court said that family formation is a constitutional right and takes precedence. (See prior posting.) In July, Egypt's Constitutional Court suspended the judgment so that the Church could challenge it. (See prior posting.) In Tuesday's ruling, according to Bikya Masr, the court reinstated its earlier ruling.