AFRICA/EGYPT - “We need to carefully observe how the situation in Egypt evolves,” missionary says

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - “Now, we need to be more careful observers of the events in Egypt,” Fr Luciano Verdoscia tells Fides, the Comboni missionary operating out of Cairo, commenting on the approval of the constitutional reform endorsed by the results of a referendum held on 19 March. The constitutional reform was approved by 77% of voters. The reform did not touch art. 2 of the Charter which states that Sharia (Islamic law) is the main source of legislation (see Fides 19/2/2011).
“The 'yes' to reform is on one hand an expression of the religious nature of the Egyptians,” says Fr Verdoscia. “Those who voted 'no' wanted a complete revision of the Constitution to make it more secular. I think that some of the Christians who voted 'no', along with the secular parties such as El Baradei. I remember that the Imams encouraged the 'yes' vote.
“On the other hand,” continues the missionary, “they urged a 'yes' vote so as not to delay the elections. This delay, however, would have given the various parties an opportunity to organise themselves better, because at the moment the only party truly organised is the Muslim Brotherhood. Although this party has shown itself to be more democratic than people thought, it always has a program of Islamization of Egyptian politics.” (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 21/3/2011)