An unofficial English translation of Egypt's new draft Constitution is now available from
Eman Nabih's blog. (Note the translation begins about 10 paragraphs down in the linked blog post.) The translation does not include a long
Preamble that appears in the Arabic version. Here are the articles most relevant to religion and state issues:
Article (1): Arab Republic of Egypt is a sovereign state, united and indivisible, a democratic republic, based on citizenship and the rule of law. Egyptian people is part of the Arab nation and work on integration and unity, and Egypt is part of the Islamic world, belong to the African continent, and is proud of its spillover Asia, and contribute to the building of human civilization.
Article (2): Islam is the state religion, and Arabic is its official language, and the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation.
Article (3): The principles of the laws of the Egyptian Christians and Jews’s legislation are the main source of legislation governing their personal status and their religious affairs, and the choice of their spiritual leaders.
Article (7): Al-Azhar is Islamic scientific independent institution, exclusively specializing to carry on all his affairs, which is the main reference in religious sciences and Islamic Affairs, and is in charge of advocacy and dissemination of the religion science and the Arabic language in Egypt and the world. The State is committed to provide sufficient funds to achieve its objectives. Sheikh of Al-Azhar is independent and non-insulated, and the law regulates his nomination among the members of the senior scientists.
Article (10): family is the basis of society, founded on religion, morality and patriotism, and the state is keen on the cohesion and stability and the consolidation of its values.
Article (11): The State ensures the achievement of equality between women and men in all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. The State takes measures to ensure the representation of women are adequately represented in parliaments as prescribed by the law, and ensures women’s right to hold public office and functions of senior management in the country and recruitment in agencies and judicial institutions, without discrimination against them. The State is committed to the protection of women against all forms of violence, and to ensure the empowerment of women to reconcile family duties and work requirements. The State also is committed to provide care and protection of motherhood, childhood and women-headed households and the elderly and women most in need.
Article (24): Arabic language, religion and national history in all its stages are basic materials in the Pre-University public and private education. Universities operate on the teaching of human rights, values and professional Scientific ethics disciplines.
Article (50): Egypt heritage of civilization, culture, moral and material in all its diversity and grand stages, ancient Egyptian, Coptic, and Islamic, national and humanely wealth is the commitment of the state to maintain it and protect it, as well as the balance of contemporary architectural cultural, literary and various artistic and its diversity, and the attack on any of this is a punishable crime by the law. The state pays special attention to maintain the components of cultural pluralism in Egypt.
Article (64): Freedom of belief is absolute. And the freedom of religious practice and the establishment of houses of worship to the owners of the heavenly religions, the right to be regulated by the law.
Article (65): Freedom of thought and opinion is guaranteed. Everyone has the right to express his opinion by saying, or writing, or photography, or other means of expression and publication.
(Article 74): The citizens have the right to form political parties, to be notified and regulated by the law. And may not be engaging in any political activity, or do political parties based on religion, or on the basis of discrimination on grounds of sex, origin, or on the basis of sectarian or geographic, or exercise hostile activity to the principles of democracy, or a secret, or a nature military or quasi-military. Parties not to be dissolved without a court order.
Article (244): The State works to represent the youth and Christians and persons with disabilities and Egyptian living abroad appropriately in the first elected Deputies Council after this constitution is adopted, so as prescribed by the law.
See
prior related posting.
