The Administrative Court has referred a lawsuit requesting that churches be subject to oversight by the Central Auditing Organization (CAO) to State Council commissioners for their legal opinion on the matter. The lawsuit was filed by lawyer Nabih al-Wash against President Hosni Mubarak, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Coptic Pope Shenouda III. Al-Wahsh's lawyer requested that the government issue an explanation as to whether religious institutions--including churches and mosques--were subject to the laws of the state, and hence to supervision by the CAO. In his lawsuit, al-Wahsh also demanded the abolition of all forms of segregation between Muslims and Christians and an obligation on the part of the Interior Ministry to regularly inspect churches as is done with Egypt's mosques.
