We are slowly coming to the end of the tumultuous year of 2013 in Egypt, a year in which a hotly debated new Constitution was signed; a year in which a polarizing President Morsi was forcibly removed from office and ends with him in prison facing a variety of charges; a year in which the people of Egypt once again mobilized into mass demonstrations, the largest in world history, and led to the removal of Morsi; a year in which other demonstrators took over a whole community and were later rooted out by security forces despite pleas to leave peacefully; a year that is ending with as much tension as it began.
As we come to the end of this year, the Egyptian people will again have another public referendum on a new Constitution on January 14 and 15. There is a lot that can happen between now and then as controversial events and potential clashes seem to be constant; for example:
And in addition to the above events/possibilities, the days of the referendum themselves are expected to have clashes as boycotters of the draft and referendum may attempt to discourage or intimidate those who may want to vote.
If there is enough peace between now and January 14/15, and enough citizens are allowed to cast their vote, there is still a question as to if the draft will pass into law. Former Presidential candidate Amr Moussa, who (by many accounts) led a balanced and diplomatic process of the panel of 50 in the creation of this draft, defends the Constitution they created; yet there are still many who are critical of the draft.
Of the many debates that waged during the panel of 50's process, we were most intrigued by the possibilities of greater religious freedom in Egypt. In the days following the forced removal of protestors in the Rabaa area mosque last summer, dozens of churches, Christians homes and businesses were attacked, leading to all sorts of structural loss; yet, the renovation or new construction of church buildings in Egypt is restricted by law, a contentious subject on the matter of religious freedom here. The panel of 50 debated the lifting of restrictions on construction/renovation of church buildings in light of this summer's events, prompting this story that the restriction would be lifted.
The next day, the discussion proceeded from freedom of construction to freedom of belief, leading to this story that indicated that there would be freedom of belief among the "celestial" or "Abrahamic" religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity).
Both of these stories prompted a lot of curious hope among Christians and Shia Muslims (who have not enjoyed the freedoms of practice like their Sunni Muslim counterparts), but also a lot concern and additional criticism among those outside of these three religious groups. For example, atheists and Baha'is were left out of the protection and discussions - on the same day that the story ran of the discussion of freedom of religion, this story ran of an investigation into the creation of an atheist Facebook page from Egypt - a quick reading of the comments section on this story will reveal that there are several who do not subscribe to any religion and who question their "right" not to believe. Baha'is are among the smallest religious minorities in Egypt and have had a long history of controversies with the government, including most recently, children of Baha'is families were refused to attend public schools.
So when the draft Constitution was passed by the panel of 50 and presented to the interim President Adly Mansour, we wondered what on the "freedom of religion" actually made it into the draft and will be a part of the upcoming referendum.
In our brief perusals of articles on the draft, we cannot find much difference on the issues of religious freedom. This article form Ahram Online lists some comparisons, and places some of the text from the new 2013 draft beside the text of the previous 2012 Constitution side-by-side. On the left, you read the text in the 2013 draft, and you can compare with the 2012 text on the right. On the matter of religious freedom, this screenshot shows their comparison:
As you can see, there doesn't seem to be that great a difference between the two; however, there is an additional amendment in the 2013 draft as you can see from this screenshot:
So, the responsibility of the lifting restrictions on the renovation and construction of church buildings will be left to the first session of the new Parliament. The last Parliament was dominated by Islamist political parties like the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom & Justice Party and the Salafi's Nour Party--but the new 2013 draft Constitution prohibits the formation of political parties based on religious groups, as seen by this screenshot
But won't these parties begin to form new parties that don't have the religious affiliation, but are essentially constituted by the same members and of the same ideals--so, is a new party name and description going to change the outcome of the new Parliament's membership? Will there be an "Islamist" dominated Parliament without the "Islamist" references--and, if so, will such a Parliament follow through with the intent of Article 235?
These will be questions that we will be following if we see progress up to and after January 14/15 into this new year.
Thank you for your continuing interest, thoughts and prayers for Egypt.
As we come to the end of this year, the Egyptian people will again have another public referendum on a new Constitution on January 14 and 15. There is a lot that can happen between now and then as controversial events and potential clashes seem to be constant; for example:
- seemingly daily clashes between pro-MB (Muslim Brotherhood) demonstrators and security forces after the MB was labeled a "terrorist organization" on Christmas day. Dozens have been injured while hundreds have been arrested in the continuing saga between the interim government and the upset supporters of the previous President, previous Constitution, and previously strong MB. Last night, four Al Jazeera reporters were arrested in Cairo--allegedly for meeting (interviewing?) members of the Muslim Brotherhood and reporting "false" news that could damage national security.
- Yesterday, we also had our third bombing in less than a week on the Egypt mainland (separate from the Sinai peninsula where ongoing trouble exists between military and militant groups).
- The new year celebrations may bring their own set of intense demonstrations; there is some fear that the Coptic (Orthodox) Christmas celebrations January 6-7 will see sectarian violence as some MB supporters blame the Copts for "their role" in the removal of Morsi. The next trial date for high-profile MB officers and ousted President Morsi (January 8) will surely bring a lot of demonstrations--all before the date of the referendum on the new draft Constitution.
And in addition to the above events/possibilities, the days of the referendum themselves are expected to have clashes as boycotters of the draft and referendum may attempt to discourage or intimidate those who may want to vote.
If there is enough peace between now and January 14/15, and enough citizens are allowed to cast their vote, there is still a question as to if the draft will pass into law. Former Presidential candidate Amr Moussa, who (by many accounts) led a balanced and diplomatic process of the panel of 50 in the creation of this draft, defends the Constitution they created; yet there are still many who are critical of the draft.
 |
| image found via Google image search - link to this 2012 AP story, which includes 20 more wonderful pics of Coptic Christians in Egypt. |
The next day, the discussion proceeded from freedom of construction to freedom of belief, leading to this story that indicated that there would be freedom of belief among the "celestial" or "Abrahamic" religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity).
Both of these stories prompted a lot of curious hope among Christians and Shia Muslims (who have not enjoyed the freedoms of practice like their Sunni Muslim counterparts), but also a lot concern and additional criticism among those outside of these three religious groups. For example, atheists and Baha'is were left out of the protection and discussions - on the same day that the story ran of the discussion of freedom of religion, this story ran of an investigation into the creation of an atheist Facebook page from Egypt - a quick reading of the comments section on this story will reveal that there are several who do not subscribe to any religion and who question their "right" not to believe. Baha'is are among the smallest religious minorities in Egypt and have had a long history of controversies with the government, including most recently, children of Baha'is families were refused to attend public schools.
So when the draft Constitution was passed by the panel of 50 and presented to the interim President Adly Mansour, we wondered what on the "freedom of religion" actually made it into the draft and will be a part of the upcoming referendum.
In our brief perusals of articles on the draft, we cannot find much difference on the issues of religious freedom. This article form Ahram Online lists some comparisons, and places some of the text from the new 2013 draft beside the text of the previous 2012 Constitution side-by-side. On the left, you read the text in the 2013 draft, and you can compare with the 2012 text on the right. On the matter of religious freedom, this screenshot shows their comparison:
As you can see, there doesn't seem to be that great a difference between the two; however, there is an additional amendment in the 2013 draft as you can see from this screenshot:
So, the responsibility of the lifting restrictions on the renovation and construction of church buildings will be left to the first session of the new Parliament. The last Parliament was dominated by Islamist political parties like the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom & Justice Party and the Salafi's Nour Party--but the new 2013 draft Constitution prohibits the formation of political parties based on religious groups, as seen by this screenshot
But won't these parties begin to form new parties that don't have the religious affiliation, but are essentially constituted by the same members and of the same ideals--so, is a new party name and description going to change the outcome of the new Parliament's membership? Will there be an "Islamist" dominated Parliament without the "Islamist" references--and, if so, will such a Parliament follow through with the intent of Article 235?
These will be questions that we will be following if we see progress up to and after January 14/15 into this new year.
Thank you for your continuing interest, thoughts and prayers for Egypt.
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