Egypt's
Daily News reports that yesterday, the Chairman of the Committee of 50 that has been drafting a new Egyptian constitution transmitted its final draft to interim President Adly Mansour. The
Jerusalem Post reports that President Mansour is expected to approve the draft and call for a referendum on it to be held in January. The
full text of the draft constitution has been published in Arabic, however it does not appear that an English translation of the full document is yet publicly available. Egypt Source however has published an extensive analysis of the document (
Part 1,
Part 2) written by Mai El-Sadany, a law student at Georgetown University. Part 1 includes an analysis of the treatment of religion in the new document. Here are some edited excerpts, but the full analysis is well worth reading:
In the current Constitutional draft, Article 2 remains as is, both defining Islam as the religion of the state and stating that the principles of Sharia are “the primary source of legislation.” Article 219 of the 2012 Constitution [defining the term "principles of Sharia] has been completely removed.... Article 3 ... states that Jewish and Christian law will govern the affairs of Jewish and Christian Egyptians in issues of personal status, religious matters, and the selection of spiritual leadership. Finally, Article 7 discussing the role of Al-Azhar, defines it as the “primary reference for the religious sciences and Islamic matters,” and emphasizes the independence of its head; however, the article does not assign the institution a specific role in the State....
... Article 64 sets forth freedom of belief as absolute. The Article, however, states that the law will set forth the right to establish places of worship and the right to practice religious rites for only “the divine religions.” Thus, while the state technically recognizes an absolute freedom of religion and freedom of thought in Article 65, it will only allow the establishment of houses of worship and the litigation of personal status issues based on either an Islamic, Christian, or Jewish identity. A transitional Article 235 also states that a law will be established to facilitate the building and renovation of churches.
Finally, as per Article 74, no political parties are to be established based on religious principles; a similar provision was included in the 1971 Constitution but was removed in texts since, allowing for organizations like the Freedom and Justice Party to be established....
In the current Constitutional draft, Article 1... notes that Egypt is a part of the Islamic world, has ties to the African continent.....
In a new development, the current draft’s Preamble touches heavily on Egypt’s identity, laying out the country’s Islamic and Christian histories.... The Preamble is also colored with lofty rhetoric ... discussing among other things, the role of Sharia, the importance of human rights, and the necessity for equality. The reference to Sharia is thought to have been included to assuage some members’ fears on secularism....
