In Egypt, a new interim constitution has come into force by decree of interim president Adly Mansour. It replaces the constitution drafted under the recently ousted President Mursi, which was criticized for not adequately protecting the rights of women and religious minorities.
The entry into force of the new interim text, which should be valid for at least six months while a new constitution is drafted, represents an important step in the transition process initiated with the ouster of Muhammad Mursi. However, the interim constitution is being met with concern, unease and criticism from leading jurists, civil rights activists and leading Christian figures.
The Coptic Catholic Bishop of Minya, Butrus Fahim Awad Hanna, told the Fides news agency: "We are worried. They even make fun of us. The things that in the old constitution looked bad in the eyes of Christians are even emphasized in the new text. If we don't speak out now, we won't be able to say anything."
Some of the changes introduced in the new interim constitutional text represent, in the eyes of critics, a step backwards from the Islamist-influenced constitution of the previous government, which was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. In particular, Christians find Article 1 of the new constitution alarming, where the reference to Sharia as the fundamental source of law is supplemented by the addition that the interpretation of Sharia must be in accordance with the legal principles developed in the first centuries of Islam. This section repeats the content of Article 219 of the previous constitution, which was at the heart of the Christian criticism of this constitution and which caused the Christian representatives on the constitutional drafting committee to withdraw from the drafting of the constitution. These formulations opened the door to the interpretations of the Salafists.
Furthermore, the interim constitution omits Article 3 of the previous one, which guaranteed that Christians and Jews could refer to their own canon law principles in the regulation of personal and religious matters within their respective denominations.
The first to criticize the interim constitution from a Christian perspective have been lawyers and former members of parliament. Even the spokesman for the Maspero Youth League has polemicized against the interim constitution, saying: "The 26 Coptic martyrs of the January 2011 revolution have been exploited by the Muslim Brotherhood, while the seven Coptic martyrs of the June 30 revolution have been exploited by the Salafists."
Source: Agenzia Fides
