Egyptian Nubians are split over whether their race should be recognized in Egypt's new constitution, as proposed by Chairman of the Nubian Union in Europe Hamdy Soliman. Soliman addressed Egypt's Deputy PM and formally demanded the involvement of Nubians in the consultations conducted between the government and different political powers regarding the constitutional principles. Nubian activist Ahmed Ishak refused the constitutional recognition of the Nubian race, saying Nubians are a main part of the Egyptian society rather than just a minority. He added that the Nubians have a historic grievance as they were displaced in 1964 and therefore demand to return to their place. Head of the Nubian Assembly for Human Rights Hany Yousif agreed with Soliman. He stated the need to recognize the cultural rights of Nubians and the diversity of culture and race in Egypt within the constitution should include not only Nubians but also Bedouins, and Amazigh as a race and cultural minority. He said the Nubians managed to keep their cultural identity and language through thousands of year, adding that the Nubian language could vanish because the state has not recognized the cultural diversity. Abdel Saboor Hasab Allah, a member of the Nubian File Committee, said the Nubians were currently conducting calls with different political and national powers to pressure the government to recognize their race and cultural rights in the new constitution. He also added the demand was one of the main demands raised by the Nubian activists during their meeting with Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.
