CAIRO: A source in the Coptic Orthodox church, who preferred to remain anonymous, denied news that the church plans to implement new laws regulating Christian marriages and permissions to build churches. The news was published in Al-Masry Al-Youm citing sources close to the Pope, which were deemed fabricated by the anonymous source. But Amr Bayoumi, the reporter who covered the story, told The Daily Star Egypt that he stood by every word he reported. He added that if the news was not true, the church should have sent a memo to the newspaper refuting it, just as they did before when Al-Masry Al-Youm mistakenly reported on the Pope s health. On the other hand, the source in the Orthodox Church indicated that the Pope and his close aides only speak to Al-Ahram, Al-Gomhuria and Watani dailies. Baiyoumi's article also indicated that the church is seeking to pass a new law in the People s Assembly to be discussed in the coming parliamentary round. Ahmed Omar Hashim, National Democratic Party MP and chairman of the PA's religious affairs committee told The Daily Star Egypt that he was not aware that those topics were on the agenda for the next parliamentary round. Hashim added that only the PA chairman can decide what should or should not be discussed during the PA sessions. A month ago, the National Council for Human Rights held a roundtable talk to discuss the laws regulating permissions to build churches and mosques. Ahmed Maghrabi, Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban communities, Hafez Abu Saeda, director of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, along with Mohamed Fayek, head of Civil and Political Rights Unit at the Council attended the meeting. Saad Zaghloul, a Coptic appeals lawyer, told The Daily Star Egypt in a previous interview that no regulations have been implemented in the constitution regarding equality in building churches and mosques since an article that issued in the 1800s during the Mohamed Ali era. Obtaining a license to build a church has always been very difficult and not as easy as it is with mosques, he said. The old law entailed that churches should acquire permission from the president himself. Recently, it s been modified and the license can be obtained directly from the governor; but this adjustment didn t make it any easier for Christians. According to Zaghloul, both governors and district council members obstruct, or at least make it difficult, for Copts to get approval and even when they do, the subsequent procedures take much longer than they do when compared to building mosques that don t need any actual authorization. Even a small issue like renovating an old church s bathroom requires permission from the head of the district council, he added. Zaghloul believes that Christians face graver stumbling blocks in areas outside Cairo. Abu Saeda indicated that both Sheikhs and Priests who attended the meeting were equally pleased with the suggested law that they felt will strengthen the concept of citizenship. In the issue of Muslims who revert to Christianity. Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative of Personal Rights (EIPR) had also told The Daily Star Egypt that he has been personally involved in filing cases asking for civilians rights for Muslims who revert to Christianity, and indicated that there are hundreds such cases. Legally in Egypt there is no offense or criminal punishment for Muslims who choose to become Christians or vice versa, Bahgat indicated. He added that Christians who revert to Islam do not face similar obstacles. However, in opposite cases, he said, they face severe administrative punishments and the state refuses to recognize their new religious affiliation denying them some of their basic rights. To my own personal and professional knowledge, I ve never heard or encountered any case where a judge ruled for a Muslim to change his religion, said Zaghloul.
