New Constitution to remove restrictions on churches in Egypt
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
CAIRO, EGYPT (Worthy News)– A 50-member committee tasked with revamping Egypt's current constitution has removed the document's repressive restrictions on church construction, according to Barnabas Aid.
The committee continues to scrub last year's constitution following the removal of President Mohammed Morsi in July. But before Morsi was deposed, members of his Muslim Brotherhood — who had dominated Egypt's constitutional assembly — had crafted an Islamist constitution that would have subjected the entire population to shari'a.
Now, however, the constitution has become more secular after the committee nullified the restrictions that required Egypt's Christians to obtain a presidential permit to build, repair or even renovate a church.
"Under a liberal constitution," said committee member Mohamed Abul-Ghar, chairman of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, "all Egyptians, particularly Christians, must be allowed to build their own places of worship freely".
Other proposed revisions to Egypt's constitution include a ban on all political parties based upon religion.
The new constitution is expected to be put to a public vote by the end of the year.