Written by Don Byrd
Via Religion Clause, a refendum on a proposed constitution in Egypt is expected to be held in January. An early draft being reviewed by the interim President has been analyzed by the blog Egypt Source. Howard Friedman’s Religion Clause has provided some edited excerpts from that analysis. Here’s just a small piece from Religion Clause:
Article 64 sets forth freedom of belief as absolute. The Article, however, states that the law will set forth the right to establish places of worship and the right to practice religious rites for only “the divine religions.” Thus, while the state technically recognizes an absolute freedom of religion and freedom of thought in Article 65, it will only allow the establishment of houses of worship and the litigation of personal status issues based on either an Islamic, Christian, or Jewish identity. A transitional Article 235 also states that a law will be established to facilitate the building and renovation of churches.
Finally, as per Article 74, no political parties are to be established based on religious principles; a similar provision was included in the 1971 Constitution but was removed in texts since, allowing for organizations like the Freedom and Justice Party to be established….
Read the entire Egypt Source analysis here.
