A unified personal status law may settle the conflict over divorce and remarriage between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the state, reports Reem Leila Following Pope Shenouda III's objections to the Supreme Administrative Court's 29 May ruling allowing the remarriage of divorced Christians, the Ministry of Justice has established a committee to prepare a unified personal status law for all Christian denominations. On 12 June Minister of Justice Mamdouh Marei announced that the committee would be charged with drafting a unified personal status law acceptable to all Christians, not just members of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Marei has set a one- month deadline for the draft to be presented to the People's Assembly (PA) for approval. Representatives of the catholic, orthodox and evangelical churches are represented on the committee, headed by counselor Omar El-Sherif, Assistant Minister of Justice. Evangelical representative Ekram Lamei has already requested that the draft law allow civil marriage for Christians. "The church should also recognise children resulting from civil marriages. If it does not, Christians will be the first to regret the omission," says Lamei. According to its media spokesman, Bishop Morcous of Shubra Al-Kheima, the Coptic Orthodox Church is opposed to the evangelical position. "They want to introduce regulations which are against Biblical teachings," says Morcous. "The church will not tolerate any intervention in its religious affairs. Any priest who agrees to officiate over a second marriage ceremony of a Christian whose divorce was granted by the courts will be immediately excommunicated." Morcous went on to quote Pope Shenouda III "The church can never accept any ruling or law that is against Biblical teaching. Marriage is a sacred bond and no man on earth can annul this bond except in the case of adultery." Dozens of Copts demonstrated in front of the PA on 13 June demanding the swift approval of the unified personal status law. Eleven groups representing Copts abroad, together with Coptic activists from the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organisation (EUHR), took part in the demonstration. The protesters have sent a letter to People's Assembly Speaker Fathi Sorour, requesting that the draft be approved before the beginning of July. "We call on President Mubarak to speed up procedures so the draft can be approved at the earliest possible date," said Ibrahim Samuel, one of the demonstrators. Coptic MP Ibtsam Habib believes it unlikely that the draft will be approved in the current session, which is coming to an end, and will most probably be passed when the PA reconvenes in December. During the past week advertisements have appeared in national newspapers petitioning President Mubarak to intervene to speed up the passing of the law. After the consecutive incidents expressing Christians' anger it was not a real surprise that the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) accepted the injunction submitted by Pope Shenouda III on its verdict issued on 29 May which obligates him to provide marriage permits for divorced Copts who want to remarry. Lawyer Naguib Gabriel, head of EUHR, points out that the Pope's writ was accepted by the court only after the intervention of senior officials. "Officials," he says, "have hitherto been hesitant to discuss the draft unified personal status law for all Christian denominations proposed by a committee comprising eight jurists, two representing the Catholic Church, two representing the Evangelical Church, and four representing the Orthodox Church, in 1980. The time is now ripe to resume the legal procedures necessary for its approval." During the past 30 years, Gabriel argues, "officials have considered the whole issue from a purely political perspective, ignoring growing discontent in both the church and the Coptic community." It is now essential, he concludes, for a unified law, agreed on by all Christians, to be passed in order to avoid any future disputes.
