By Essam Fadl
CAIRO: The Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical Churches urged the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) to form a committee comprising Al-Azhar and the three churches to discuss the unified law of houses of worship before it is drafted.
Papal sources told Daily News Egypt that a joint meeting between the three churches, and headed by Pope Shenouda, will be held at the end of the week to agree on ways to discuss the law that was drafted by the Cabinet and stirred debate among both Coptic and Muslim communities after it was leaked to the media.
“The three churches agreed to a great extent on which articles of the draft law that need to be cancelled or modified.” the sources added.
Member of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Bishop Salib Matta Sawiris told Daily News Egypt Monday that preliminary discussions between the three churches reached a suggestion to form a joint committee before the draft is approved.
“Details will be announced after the Pope returns from the US,” said Sawiris, adding that implementing the draft law will lead to more sectarian tension.
Youth Bishop Moussa of the Orthodox Church submitted a memo to the SCAF and the Cabinet Saturday calling for making nine modifications in the draft law, including decreasing the required space for a worship house from 1000 square meters to only 200 square meters, canceling the article that bans the building of small houses of worship, and reducing the punishment for whoever violates the building permit requirements from a prison sentence to only a fine.
Meanwhile, four rights groups, including New World Foundation for Development and Human Rights, Reform and Citizenship Monitor, Observers without Borders, Defenders of Human Rights Network, presented a memo to Prime Minister Essam Sharaf that includes some suggestions for the draft law.
The memo suggested considering events halls, local clinics and service centers as houses of worship, assigning governors to consider rejected building permits, and imposing harsher prison sentences on violating requirements of building permits.
Executive Director of New World Foundation for Development and Human Rights Emad Hegab said suggestions also included imposing unified and clear rules that are in line with freedom of religion, counting the exact number of a district’s residents before issuing permits and canceling the article banning the building of small houses of worship.
