ICC Note: The new church construction law in Egypt is seeming to be more discriminatory against Christians than helpful to them. While seeming like a positive step forward for religious minorities in the nation, the provisions that accompany the law are extremely crippling to those wishing to build a church. The law was drafted and passed in an almost direct response to this summer of sectarian violence that left one person dead and cost the Christian community greatly.

09/16/2016 Egypt (HRW): A  long-awaited new law maintains restrictions over the construction and renovation of churches and discriminates against the Christian minority in Egypt. The law, passed by Egypt’s parliament on August 30, 2016, applies only to Christian houses of worship.

Recent incidents of anti-Christian violence that left one person dead, several injured, and numerous properties destroyed were prompted or preceded by anger among some local Muslims over actual or alleged church construction. Even when authorities have made arrests, they have rarely prosecuted suspects, creating a climate of impunity for violent crimes that target Christians.

“Many Egyptians hoped that governments would respect and protect freedom of religion, including for Christians, after the 2011 uprising,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, the authorities are ignoring the underlying systemic issues and sending a message that Christians can be attacked with impunity.”

The website of Al-Youm al-Sabaa newspaper published the law and explanatory memo on August 30.

The new law allows governors to deny church-building permits with no stated way to appeal, requires that churches be built “commensurate with” the number of Christians in the area, and contains security provisions that risk subjecting decisions on whether to allow church construction to the whims of violent mobs.

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