With Sharia law de-emphasized, Egyptian Christians call draft constitution a positive step — JNS.org

Egypt’s new draft constitution, to be voted on in a national referendum in January, is being hailed for its improvements over the 2012 Islamist-backed constitution. But the new constitution still has a number of shortcomings regarding religious and personal freedoms, according to concerned Egyptian Christians and human rights groups.

“Personally I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Halim Meawad, co-founder of Coptic Solidarity, a U.S.-based international Coptic Christian human rights organization.

Meawad said the draft constitution is an improvement over the Muslim Brotherhood constitution of 2012, particularly with elimination of Article 219, which defined aspects of Sharia law on which legislation could be based. Article 219 and other features of the 2012 constitution led many liberal and Christian leaders to boycott the Muslim Brotherhood government, eventually culminating in popular protests and the military’s ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

The new draft, by removing Article 219, eliminates the political authority that Al-Azhar University, Egypt’s highest Islamic institution, had over the legislative process.

“The new draft maintains the position of Sharia in social conscience, but prevents any infringements on constitutional jurisdiction,” Adel Ramadan, legal affairs official at local NGO Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told Ahram Online.

Nevertheless, controversial aspects still remain in the draft constitution, including Article 2, which states that the principles of Islamic Sharia are “the main source of legislation.”

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With Sharia law de-emphasized, Egyptian Christians call draft constitution a positive step — JNS.org