AFRICA/EGYPT - A Coptic commission to outline the criticisms concerning the Provisional Constitution

Thursday, 11 July 2013

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The Coptic Orthodox Church has appointed a commission of jurists and Christian politicians to draw up a memorandum of critical observations on the provisional Constitution. This was confirmed to Fides Agency by the Coptic Catholic Bishop of Assiut Kyrillos William. "I hope", adds Anba Kyrillos "that this initiative will be followed by others in a united manner among all the Churches and Christian communities, by activating in particular the National Council of Christian Churches recently formed. Christians must face in communion the difficult moment the Country is facing".
The commission counts among its members former MP Susie Adly and lawyer Amir Ramzy. What alarms Christians in particular is Article 1 of the new constitutional declaration, which in proposing the Sharia as the fundamental source of legislation accredits the rigorous interpretation sponsored by the interpretative schools closer to the Salafi Islamists.
With regards to the dramatic moment experienced by the country, Anba Kyrillos confirms to Fides that "the army has limited itself by protecting the will of the people, without expecting to exercise political power in a direct form. The part of the population that refers to the Muslim Brotherhood should be involved in the process of reconstruction of the national policy framework. And I think this is both desirable and possible, if one puts aside the claim to exercise hegemony". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 11/07/2013).


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