ICC Note: The August 30 Church construction law in Egypt has begun to ease restrictions much to the surprise and relief of the coptic community.  The Middle East Media Research Institute has released a new report saying that negotiated updates have finally been approved by the president.

10/11/2016 Egypt (Christian Daily): Since the time of the Ottoman Empire at about 1856, Christians had been required to obtain permission from the sultan in order to build a church. Permission from Muslim groups and other conditions were later added to those requirements, but now a new law has been adopted to lift some of those restrictions, according to a report on Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.

Meanwhile, the Middle East Media Research Institute released a new report saying the Egyptian government has negotiated updates with officials of Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians which was finally approved by the President.

The new law regulating the construction and renovation of churches in the Middle East initially required permission from the governor, who is given four months to respond to the request. Although this plan had been agreed to a few months ago, disagreements erupted over a section saying the size of the of the structure to be built “must be in accordance with the number and needs of the Christians in the area where it will be established, taking into consideration the population growth rate …”

The said section in the new law drew criticism because the construction of Muslim mosques in Egypt is not subjected to similar size restrictions. Coptic MP Dr. Imad Gad also said the law does not address the problem of old churches and the construction of new ones, explaining that it would only create a division between Christians and Muslims.

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