LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The constitution specifies Islam as the state religion and the principles of sharia as the main source of legislation. The constitution states that “freedom of belief is absolute” and “the freedom of practicing religious rituals and establishing worship places for the followers of divine [Abrahamic] religions is a right regulated by law.” The constitution also states citizens “are equal before the law,” prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, and makes “incitement to hatred” based upon “religion, belief, sex, origin, race…or any other reason” a crime. It prohibits political activity or the formation of political parties based on religion.

The government officially recognizes Sunni Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, and allows only their adherents as defined by the government to publicly practice their religion and build houses of worship. The constitution defines al-Azhar, the main authority on theology and Islamic affairs, as “an independent scientific Islamic institution with exclusive competence over its own affairs… It is responsible for preaching Islam and disseminating the religious sciences and the Arabic language” worldwide. The constitution requires the state to provide “sufficient funding for it to achieve its purposes.” Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam is elected by al-Azhar’s Council of Senior Scholars and is officially appointed by the President for a life term. The President does not have the authority to dismiss him.

Al-Azhar has been deemed by the Council of State, an independent judicial body that gives legal advice to the government and drafts legislation, as the final arbiter regarding licensing of audio and audiovisual productions related to Islam. Courts also seek al-Azhar’s opinion in cases of blasphemy. Its consent is a precondition for other Muslim religious groups to practice their religious rituals openly.

By law, capital sentences must be referred to the Grand Mufti, the country’s highest Islamic legal official, for consultation before they can be carried out. The Grand Mufti’s decision in these cases is consultative and nonbinding on the court that handed down the sentence.

The constitution stipulates the canonical laws of Jews and Christians form the basis of legislation governing their personal status, religious affairs, and selection of spiritual leaders. Individuals are subject to different sets of personal status laws regarding such matters as marriage, divorce, and inheritance depending upon their official religious designation. The Ministry of Interior issues national identity cards for citizens that include official religious designations. Designation options are limited to “Muslim,” “Christian,” or “Jewish.” Although the government designates Jehovah’s Witnesses as “Christian” on identity cards, a presidential decree bans their religious activities. Since a 2009 court order, Baha’is and other citizens belonging to unrecognized religious groups may have their religious affiliation denoted by a dash (“-”) on national identity cards. The Minister of Interior has the authority to issue executive regulations determining what data national identity cards must list.

Neither the constitution nor the civil or penal codes prohibit renunciation of Islam, nor do they outlaw efforts to proselytize. The law states individuals may change their religion. The government recognizes conversion to Islam, but generally does not recognize conversions from Islam to any other religion, except in the case of individuals who were not born Muslim but later converted to Islam, according to a Ministry of Interior decree pursuant to a court order. Reverting to Christianity requires presentation of a document from the receiving church, an identity card, and fingerprints. After a determination is made that the intent of the change – which often also entails a name change – is not to evade prosecution for a crime committed under the Muslim name, a new identity document is issued with the Christian name and religious designation. In cases in which Muslims not born Muslim convert from Islam, their minor children, and in some cases adult children who were minors when their parents converted, remain classified as Muslims. When these children reach the age of 18, they have the option of converting to Christianity and having that reflected on their identity cards.

The penal code, while not addressing blasphemy by name, states that “disdaining and disrespecting” any of the “heavenly religions” (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) is punishable by six months’ to five years’ imprisonment or fines of at least 500 EGP ($16). Using religion to promote “extremist ideology” with the aim of inciting strife or contempt of the “heavenly religions” or their branches or harming national unity carries penalties ranging from six months’ to five years’ imprisonment. The law is commonly applied in cases alleging contempt of Sunni Islam and Christianity. The cybercrime law penalizes “violating the family principles of Egyptian Society” with a minimum imprisonment of six months and a fine of 50,000-100,000 EGP ($1,600 to 3,200). According to civil society organizations, the term “family principles” is vague and is often invoked by authorities to punish perceived blasphemy.

There are four entities currently authorized to issue fatwas (religious rulings binding on Muslims): the al-Azhar Council of Senior Scholars, the al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy, Dar al-Iftaa (House of Religious Edicts), and the Ministry of Awqaf’s General Fatwa Directorate. While officially a part of the Ministry of Justice, Dar al-Iftaa has been an independent organization since 2007.

Islamic, Christian, and Jewish groups may request official recognition from the government, which gives previously unrecognized religious groups the right to be governed by their own canonical laws, practice religious rituals, establish houses of worship, and import religious literature. To obtain official recognition, a religious group must submit a request to the Ministry of the Interior’s Administrative Affairs Department. The department then determines whether the group poses a threat to national unity or social peace. As part of this determination, the department consults leading religious institutions, including the Coptic Orthodox Church and al-Azhar. The President then reviews and adjudicates the registration application.

The law does not recognize the Baha’i Faith or its religious laws and bans Baha’i institutions and community activities. The law does not stipulate penalties for banned religious groups or their members who engage in religious practices, but these groups are denied rights granted to recognized groups, such as having their own houses of worship or other property, holding bank accounts, or importing religious literature.

The government, through the Ministry of Awqaf, appoints, pays the salaries of and monitors imams who lead prayers in licensed mosques. According to the law, penalties for preaching or giving religious lessons without a license from the Ministry of Awqaf or al-Azhar include a prison term of up to one year, a fine of up to 50,000 EGP ($1,600), or both. The penalty doubles for repeat offenders. Ministry of Awqaf inspectors also have judicial authority to arrest imams for violating this law. A ministry decree prevents unlicensed imams from preaching in any mosque, prohibits holding Friday prayers in mosques smaller than 80 square meters (860 square feet), bans unlicensed mosques from holding Friday prayer services (other prayer services are permitted), and pays bonuses to imams who deliver Friday sermons written and disseminated by the Ministry of Awqaf. Ministry personnel monitor Friday sermons in major mosques and an imam who fails to follow the guidelines for ministry sermons may lose the bonus and be subject to disciplinary measures, including potentially losing his preaching license.

The Prime Minister has the authority to stop circulation of books that “denigrate religions,” referring to the three recognized Abrahamic faiths. Ministries may obtain court orders to ban or confiscate books and works of art. The cabinet may ban works it deems offensive to public morals, detrimental to religion, or likely to cause a breach of the peace. The Islamic Research Academy of al-Azhar has the legal authority to censor and confiscate any publications dealing with the Quran and the authoritative Islamic traditions (sunnah) and to confiscate publications, tapes, speeches, and artistic materials deemed inconsistent with Islamic law.

A 2016 law delegates the power to issue legal permits and to authorize church construction or renovation to governors of the country’s 27 governorates. The governor must respond within four months of receipt of an application for legalization; any refusal must include a written justification. The law does not provide for review or appeal of a refusal, nor does it specify recourse if a governor fails to respond within the required timeframe. The law also includes provisions to legalize existing unlicensed churches. It stipulates that while a request to license an existing building for use as a church is pending, the use of the building to conduct church services and rites may not be prevented. Legalization becomes final only when the approved churches comply with provisions of structural soundness and civil defense (safety) conditions, prove land ownership, and pay the required administrative fees. Under the law, the size of new churches continues to depend on a government determination of the “number and need” of Christians in the area. Construction of new churches must meet specific land registration procedures and building codes and is subject by law to greater government regulation than that applied to the construction of new mosques.

Under a separate law governing the construction of mosques, the Ministry of Awqaf reviews and approves building permits. A 2001 cabinet decree includes a list of 10 provisions requiring that new mosques built after that date must, among other conditions, be a minimum of 500 meters (1,640 feet) from the nearest other mosque, have a ground surface of at least 175 square meters (1,884 square feet), and be built only in areas where “the existing mosques do not accommodate the number of residents in the area.” The law does not require Ministry of Awqaf approval for mosque renovations.

In both public and private schools that teach the national curriculum, in all grades Muslim students are required to take courses on “principles of Islam” and Christian students are required to take courses on “principles of Christianity.” The religious studies courses they take are based on their official identity card designations, not personal or parental decisions. Students who are neither Muslim nor Christian must choose one or the other course; they may not opt out or change from one to the other once selected. A common set of textbooks for these two courses is mandated for both public and private schools, including parochial schools. Al-Azhar maintains a separate school system that serves an estimated two million students from kindergarten through secondary school, using its own curriculum.

The penal code criminalizes discrimination based on religion and defines it as including “any action, or lack of action, that leads to discrimination between people or against a sect due to… religion or belief.” The law applies to religions “whose rituals are publicly held,” which technically applies only to the three Abrahamic religions. The law stipulates imprisonment for a term determined by the judge, a fine of no less than 30,000 EGP ($970) and no more than 50,000 EGP ($1,600), or both as penalties for discrimination. If the perpetrator is a government employee, the law states that the imprisonment should be no less than three months and the fine no less than 50,000 EGP ($1,600) and no more than 100,000 EGP ($3,200).

Customary reconciliation is a form of dispute resolution that predates the country’s modern judicial and legal systems and is recognized in the law in instances that do not pertain to crimes considered more serious (e.g., those involving homicide, significant injury, or theft). Customary reconciliation sessions rely on the accumulation of a set of customary rules to address conflicts between individuals, families, households, or workers and employees in certain professions. Parties to disputes agree upon a resolution that typically contains stipulations to pay an agreed-upon amount of money for breaching the terms of the agreement.

In matters of family law, when spouses are members of the same religious denomination, courts apply that denomination’s canonical laws. The courts apply sharia in cases where one spouse is Muslim and the other is a member of a different religion, where both are Christians but members of different denominations, or where the individuals are not members of a government-recognized religious group.

The government recognizes only the marriages of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim citizens, with documentation from a cleric, and does not recognize civil marriages between Egyptian citizens. Official guidance from the Ministry of Justice stipulates that “the law prohibits marriage to an atheist.” Under the articles of the law, the government reserves the right to strip nationals of their citizenship in cases where “national security and interests are threatened.” Marriages between Shia are recognized as Muslim marriages. The law stipulates Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men. Non-Muslim men who wish to marry Muslim women must convert to Islam. Christian and Jewish women are not required to convert to Islam to marry Muslim men. A married non-Muslim woman who converts to Islam must divorce her husband if he is not Muslim and is unwilling to convert to Islam. If a married man is discovered to have left Islam, his marriage to a woman whose official religious designation is Muslim is dissolved.

A divorced mother is entitled to custody of her son until the age of 15 and her daughter until the daughter marries. The children’s father has the right to petition the court to ask the children to choose between staying with their mother or father, unless one parent is Muslim and the other is not, in which case the Muslim parent is awarded custody.

The government does not recognize marriages of Baha’is or individuals from other unrecognized religious groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Hindus, and members of the Church of Jesus Christ.

The law generally follows sharia in matters of inheritance. In 2017, an appellate court ruled that applying sharia to non-Muslims in inheritance matters violated the section of the constitution stating that personal status matters for Christian and Jewish communities are governed by their respective religious doctrines. The Constitutional Court has not ruled on this issue.

Sharia provisions forbidding adoption apply to all citizens. The Ministry of Social Solidarity, however, manages a program called “Alternative Family” which recognizes permanent legal guardianship if certain conditions are met, including requirements that the guardians share the same religion as the child and have been married to one another for a minimum of five years.

The quasigovernmental National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), whose members are by law appointed by parliament, is charged with strengthening protections, raising awareness, and ensuring the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom. It also is charged with monitoring enforcement and application of international agreements pertaining to human rights. The council’s mandate includes investigating reports of alleged violations of religious freedom.

The constitution mandates that the state eliminate all forms of discrimination through an independent commission, to be established by parliament; parliament has not established such a commission.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights but declared in a reservation when it became a party considering that the provisions of the covenant do not conflict with sharia.

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

Abuses Involving Violence, Detention, or Mass Resettlement

According to media reports, on October 8, an Egyptian police officer shot and killed two Israelis and an Egyptian tour guide at a tourist site in Alexandria. Several observers stated the attack reflected antisemitic views and hatred of Israel. The al-Azhar electronic fatwa center issued a ruling later that day stating, “Islam does not permit any harm…to a person who is granted a visa by the state to enter its lands…he has right to security and safety.” Al-Alzhar also issued a statement saying, “Islam unequivocally rejects such unjustified violence and extremist ideologies harm the stability and security of the country.” Media sources reported authorities arrested the police officer alleged to have carried out the shooting and killings.

On December 18, a group of villagers reportedly sought to prevent the building of an officially licensed church in Upper Egypt’s Minya Governorate, leading to clashes with security forces and the burning of several Coptic residents’ homes. Local media reported security forces were pelted with stones by the demonstrators as they secured the construction site, and the group then set fire to homes and destroyed livestock.

On January 14, a customary reconciliation (mediation) session among Muslim, Coptic, and government officials concluded in the village of Ashrouba, Minya Governorate following an earlier attack by Muslims against Coptic villagers. The violence reportedly followed a minor car accident between Muslim and Coptic motorists on January 8, escalating into looting of Copt-owned shops, stones being thrown at a local church, and minor injuries to Coptic residents. Police made several arrests and started investigations; reportedly all of those arrested were released, and Copts received no compensation for their losses.

On January 16, the Court of Cassation rejected an appeal by 74-year-old Souad Thabet, a Christian woman attacked and stripped by a group of Muslim men in Minya Governorate in 2016 following accusations of a romantic relationship between Thabet’s son and a Muslim woman. Thabet had appealed the 2020 decision of a criminal court in Minya to acquit three men tried for the assault. According to the Coptic press, Thabet’s lawyer said the three men had filed a civil compensation suit against her.

On June 6, the First Circuit of the Supreme State Security Court sentenced four ISIS militants to death, two in absentia, for their role in a pair of 2017 and 2018 attacks on buses carrying visitors to the St. Samuel Christian Monastery in Minya Governorate that killed a total of 35 people. Authorities sentenced six additional militants to prison terms from three to five years.

On July 11, the Court of Cassation upheld a 2019 death sentence against policeman Rabei Mustafa Khalifa, convicted of murder in the killing of two Copts in the city of Minya in 2018.

In its July 30 session, the Third Circuit Criminal Court renewed the detention of Nour Fayez Ibrahim for a 45-day period pending investigations into a case against Ibrahim before the Supreme State Security. Security forces detained Ibrahim in 2022 after he created a Facebook group on which he debated monotheistic religions. Authorities ultimately charged Ibrahim with “leading a terrorist group” and “showing disrespect to Abrahamic religions.”

On October 26, the First Chamber of Terrorism at the Cairo Criminal Court renewed the detention of the Yemeni refugee Abdel-Baqi Saeed Abdo Ali for 45 days on charges of “joining a terrorist group and contempt for Islam,” following his conversion from Islam to Christianity. By the end of the year, Abdo Ali’s incarceration had lasted more than two years, exceeding the maximum permitted 18-month period of pretrial detention.

On October 4, the Supreme Committee for Reconciliation at al-Azhar, in cooperation with Qena Governorate, announced the conclusion of a reconciliation session that ended an eight-year feud between two families in the village of Karnak that had claimed 10 lives. Dr. Abdel Moneim Fouad, a member of the Supreme Committee, praised the families’ reconciliation as “one of the morals called for by Islam to preserve blood and honor and spread security and stability.” A separate reconciliation session in Sohag Governorate on October 16 involved officials from the Supreme Committee, local imams, and thousands of residents, after which head of the committee Dr. Abbas Shuman emphasized that “reconciliation is the path of the righteous and reformers on Earth…[a] society characterized by reconciliation and forgiveness is indeed a virtuous and righteous society.”

On November 27, a criminal court in El Dabaa sentenced six Muslims to prison terms ranging from six years to life for their role in the religiously motivated killing of Christian Rani Raafat in April 2021. One of the defendants reportedly broadcast a confession on social media referring to Raafat as an “infidel” following the killing, and police investigations concluded the killing was premeditated. The sentences reportedly stoked anger among Copts expecting death sentences for the accused.

Abuses Limiting Religious Belief and Expression

More than a year after his January 2022 release, Copt and human rights activist Ramy Kamel Saied Salib remained under a travel ban. Authorities originally arrested him in 2019 following his application for a Swiss visa to speak at a UN forum in Geneva on minority rights and charged him with joining a banned group and spreading false news.

During the Cairo International Book Fair January 24 through February 6, the pavilion of the Muslim Council of Elders hosted a symposium entitled “The Call to Atheism and its Threat to Humanity.”

On February 17, the University of Sinai announced its decision to close an investigation into the conduct of a female student accused by a colleague of “contempt of religion” based on the screenshot of a comment defaming Islam that appeared on the student’s social media account. Police and national security officers questioned the student, who denied responsibility for the post in question and said her account had been hacked after she went to her local police station on February 12 to complain about the false accusation. Police released her without charge on February 15.

On February 23, a misdemeanor court in Alexandria sentenced TikTok content creator Osama Sharaf El-Din who used the account name “al-Prince al-Masry” (“Prince of Egypt”) to three years in prison for insulting Christianity. The public prosecution accused Sharaf El-Din in 2022 of “using religion to spread radical thought using audio and video content online and of holding in contempt an Abrahamic religion – Christianity – and sowing discord among Egyptians in a way that threatens national unity”. Videos of Sharaf El-Din on Facebook and TikTok showed him mocking the Bible, Christianity, and its symbols.

On February 24, the Supreme State Security Prosecution released George Farouk Zaki Gerges, arrested in November 2022, on charges of joining a terrorist group and spreading false news. Gerges was reportedly arrested based on a post to his Facebook page, in which he criticized the political positions of church leaders.

On March 20, the EIPR issued a statement condemning a de facto travel ban against Quranist activist Reda Abdel Rahman. Quranists (Quraniyyun) believe the Quran is the sole source of Islamic law and reject the authenticity and authority of the hadith (the body of sayings and traditions attributed to the Prophet Mohammed). According to the statement, Abdel Rahman – who was freed from more than 18 months of pretrial detention in February 2022 – was prevented from departing the country to visit Saudi Arabia on March 10, despite the lack of any judicial decision preventing his travel. Authorities detained Abdel Rahman in 2020, accusing him of being an ISIS member and espousing “takfiri thought” (i.e., accusing other Muslims of heresy), although he was never tried.

On April 3, Amir Nassif, a Copt and an attorney, called for the trial of Moaz Alyan, a YouTube content creator, alleging Alyan’s “continuous insults to the Christian faith and his contempt for the Christian religion through his personal pages on social networking sites as well as his YouTube channel.” Alyan answered Nassif in a separate YouTube video saying that he is “just raising questions in the same way that Christian missionaries ask questions.”

On June 26, a misdemeanor court in Cairo’s Fifth Settlement upheld a 1,000 EGP ($32) fine imposed against al-Azhar faculty member Mabrouk Attia for insulting Christianity and Islam after he issued a video in 2022 during which he employed a pun playing on the similarity of the Arabic words for “Mars” and “Messiah.”

On July 20, President Sisi pardoned Patrick Zaki the day after he was sentenced by an emergency court to three years in prison for “spreading false news.” His travel ban also was lifted. Zaki was a graduate student at the University of Bologna and employed by EIPR at the time of his arrest at Cairo International Airport in 2020. Authorities arrested Zaki after he wrote an article in 2019 addressing the challenges of living as a Copt in Egypt. Zaki spent 22 months in pretrial detention prior to his release. After his July sentencing, more than 30 human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and EIPR, issued a statement calling for his release that said, “The targeting, arrest, prosecution, and sentencing of Patrick Zaki for writing about his experiences as a Coptic Christian is an egregious measure by Egyptian authorities that is indicative of a larger failure by the state to protect religious minorities. Instead, the authorities target Copts for merely expressing themselves and bringing attention to the discrimination they regularly endure.”

In July, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry summoned the Swedish Chargé concerning a Quran burning incident in Sweden. The Minister reportedly emphasized during the meeting “the hatred generated by this act among Muslims toward those who allow it is significant…there is a real fear …[anger] could lead to outcomes that are not in the interest of any party.” On September 26, al-Azhar expressed its condemnation and deep concern regarding subsequent incidents of Quran desecration reported in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, accusing “some Western governments” of “fueling hatred and animosity among peoples.” After burnings of the Quran in Sweden and the Netherlands during the year, al-Azhar called for the boycott of Swedish and Dutch products. In August, media reported that the head of al-Azhar called for an international dialogue among Islamic scholars, of all sects and schools, to establish a common position following the Quran-burning incidents in Europe.

On August 29, media reported the Syndicate of Quran Reciters had submitted demands that persons involved in recording and posting an online video of Quranic recitation accompanied by traditional lute music be prosecuted for contempt of religion. The composer in the video, Dr. Ahmed Hegazy, defended the video as a valid method of musical instruction.

On March 22, al-Azhar issued a fatwa stating that a four-year-old abandoned child named Shenouda raised by Christian parents could be considered Christian based on the conditions under which he was found. A few days later, the Grand Mufti issued a similar fatwa. The Public Prosecutor’s office ordered the child’s return to his Coptic foster parents less than a week later. The child’s case began in November 2022, when authorities ordered him removed from his foster parents and placed in an orphanage, noting that absent definitive proof of his biological parentage he was assumed to be a Muslim. The attorney representing the foster family described the decision to return Shenouda as “a landmark precedent for Christians.”

In September, social media activists circulated a photograph depicting a certificate of conversion to Islam issued by al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy on behalf of a young Christian, Saad Fahim, from a village in Beni Suef Governorate. They also circulated a medical certificate for the same man from a hospital in Beni Suef that indicated Fahim suffered from a “psychological disorder and a delay in mental abilities” and had previously been committed to the hospital for psychological treatment. The activists questioned how al-Azhar could accept such a conversion, and whether it was an indicator of “forced conversion campaigns.”

Throughout the year, civil society groups and Coptic organizations in the country and the United States reported at least eight cases of alleged abduction and forced conversion of Coptic women and girls. In several of these cases involving minors, members of the Coptic community expressed thanks to the security services for helping to locate and return the girls to their families. In April, the Egyptian Commission for Human Rights (ECRF) launched a campaign called “Stories of Oppression” to draw attention to “the suffering of Christian women in Egypt,” including alleged abductions. The ECRF campaign called on the government to “raise the efficiency of the security services and the judicial authority in investigating crimes involving Christian women, and to issue instructions not to accept reconciliation in these crimes.” International media reported at least one instance of allegations that a convert from Christianity to Islam was forced back to Christianity by her family, leading to criticism of al-Azhar on social media for “failure to demand the state protect the freedom of those who want to become Muslims.”

Abuses Involving the Ability of Individuals to Engage in Religious Activities Alone or In Community with Others

The government has designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group and prosecuted individuals for alleged membership in or support for it. The Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, and the Islamist Building and Development Party remained banned.

On January 4, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb visited Pope Tawadros II at the headquarters for the Coptic Church in Cairo to congratulate him on the occasion of Christmas (January 7).

On April 26, security forces reportedly prevented pilgrims in 70 vehicles from visiting the St. Samuel Christian Monastery in Minya Governorate – targeted by twin terrorist attacks in 2017 and 2018 – due to “security concerns,” leading to reported altercations between visitors and security personnel. Following the incident, Biship Yoannis of Assiut announced that visits to the monastery would be restricted to Fridays “until further notice.”

In May, Muhammad Mukhtar Abu Zaid, Deputy General of the Sheikhdom of the Sufi Orders in Desouk, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, announced that no celebrations would take place to commemorate the birth of Sufi figure Ibrahim al-Desouki – one of the largest such gatherings in the country – in compliance with the government’s decisions to cancel mass religious gatherings nationwide since the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19. In June, hundreds of Sufi devotees gathered in Wadi Humaithra, Red Sea Governorate to commemorate the birth of Sufi figure Abu al-Hasan al-Shazly. On September 27, the head of the Supreme Council of Sufi Orders announced the first procession in celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday (Mawlid) since the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19, during which members of Sufi orders marched in Cairo between the Sidi Saleh al-Jaafari and Hussein Mosques. In October, Sufis in Tanta celebrated the birth of Sayyid al-Badawi; the number of celebrants was estimated at over 10 thousand.

On July 17, the State Council issued a binding judicial ruling prohibiting civil society organizations and NGOs from practicing “religious preaching and guidance.” The decision reportedly stemmed from a request by Social Solidarity Minister Neveen al-Qabbaj in response to faith-based organizations listing “Bible study” and “religious guidance” among their activities. The decision reads, in part: “Just as it is not permissible to mix civil work with political, partisan, or trade union activities, it is also impossible to mix it with religious activities carried out by its institutions.” Organizations found to have breached the ruling are liable for fines of 100,000 EGP ($3,200) to one million EGP ($32,400).

According to multiple local sources, the government largely continued to allow Baha’is, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Shia Muslims to worship privately in small numbers, but it continued to deny requests for public religious gatherings by unregistered religious groups.

Bassatine Cemetery in Cairo, which members of the Baha’i community described as overcrowded and inconveniently distant for Baha’is living outside Cairo, remained the only cemetery in the country where Baha’is could be buried. After December 2022 court rulings that neither the governments of Alexandria nor Port Said were obligated to grant land for a cemetery for members of unrecognized religious groups, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld both decisions with no further appeals possible on behalf of the Baha’i community. By the end of the year, the community reportedly appealed directly to President Sisi to approve a land grant for cemetery usage.

The Ministry of Awqaf continued to distribute sermon guidelines monthly to Sunni mosques and to recommend imams adhere to prescribed themes. It did not, however, dictate content word for word.

An international conference that the Ministry of Awqaf organized on September 9 and 10 under the title “The Digital Space and Modern Means of Religious Discourse” was cited by Minister Gomaa as addressing a challenge as important and difficult as “liberating mosques from the control of extremist groups.” One of the topics discussed at the conference was “Inappropriate Use of the Digital Space,” with Gomaa further explaining “the ministry has a preaching map for the geographical distribution of activities…leading to complete control and preventing extremists and the unqualified from appearing,” adding that “the unqualified are no less dangerous in religious discourse than extremists.”

Local and international press reported in September the continued demolition of Islamic mausoleums in Cairo’s “City of the Dead” cemetery quarter – which stretches more than four miles along the eastern edge of historic Islamic Cairo, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to make room for multilane highway expansion projects. Preservationists and family members of those buried in the cemetery raised concerns about the damage to centuries-old artifacts and structures in the necropolis. Some family members stated that they learned of the destruction of their relatives’ tombs only after the fact; others reported they were only given a few weeks or days of notice to exhume and relocate remains of their relatives. The AP reported that “the cemetery destruction sparked an outcry that is unusual in … Egypt…. Dozens of parties, activists, public figures, and nongovernmental organizations signed a petition in August condemning the destruction. Five members of a committee of experts formed by the government to study the cemeteries resigned in protest, saying authorities ignored its recommendations that demolitions be halted and alternatives to the routes be found.” According to one article, “Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said in June that alternative burial sites are being provided for families moving their dead ahead of the construction,” adding “tomb markers of historic figures would be collected in a ‘Cemetery of the Immortals.’” The government denied that any officially registered historic areas in the City of the Dead had been damaged or destroyed.

Local media reported on January 21 that President Sisi gave directives to plan for expanded mosque construction to spread “true religion nationwide” while ensuring proper selection of mosque locations and “rightsizing” mosque capacity based on local populations. Some critics complained that “mosques are not the priority of Egyptians now,” and Coptic activist Magdy Khalil stated that the state had built thousands of mosques annually at government expense while only a few dozen Coptic Churches were built with Coptic Community funds.

On March 23, President Sisi inaugurated the Islamic Cultural Center in the New Administrative Capital, a component of the Mosque of Egypt, the world’s second-largest mosque extending over an area of 19,100 square meters (206,000 square feet) with space to accommodate 107,000 worshippers and built at a cost of 800 million EGP ($25.8 million). According to international press outlets, the inauguration was met with criticism on social media, where commenters questioned spending on large-scale houses of worship amid the country’s ongoing economic crisis.

In early April, Copts in Samalout, Upper Egypt called on President Sisi to reopen three closed churches and build or rebuild two others to more effectively serve local Christian populations. Of the five churches, three were closed due to “security conditions” between 2002 and 2006, one was burned in 2016 and not rebuilt, and one had land allocated but permission for construction has not been granted.

According to Coptic media, the Coptic Church of the Holy Virgin and St. Samuel in Beheira Governate remained without a permanent roof. In 2022, police contained a reported effort by Muslim villagers to throw stones as Copts attempted to refurbish the leaking roof of the church. Local government employees on the scene ultimately objected to the pouring of the concrete roof, saying it violated the church’s licensing conditions. According to EIPR, authorities detained and released two of the attackers.

In June, the Official Gazette published a decision by Prime Minister Madbouly regularizing the status of 141 churches and 233 connected properties. The new registrations brought the number of churches granted legal status to 2,973 – out of 3,730 pending church legalization requests. There were no reports that the committee had rejected any requests to adjust the status of unlicensed churches. While some non-Coptic Orthodox groups said the approval process took longer than normal, Coptic leaders said they were satisfied with the pace of committee approvals and that they expected to see decreasing numbers of approvals for previously unlicensed churches in the future as the government addressed the pre-2017 backlog.

On August 8, the governor of Aswan, Major General Ashraf Attia, instructed executive agencies in the governorate to quickly complete the procedures for reconciling the status of 83 churches and service buildings in Aswan in accordance with decisions issued by the Supreme Committee for the Reconciliation of the Status of Churches headed by Prime Minister Madbouly. Attia also directed civil protection officials to provide adequate firefighting equipment and training while minimizing any bureaucratic delays in licensing the 83 churches. Governor Attia’s instructions followed a meeting in which he hosted representatives of three Christian denominations and local officials.

On August 7, President Sisi received Sultan Mufaddal Saif al-Din, Sultan of the Dawoodi Bohra religious group in India, a group within Ismaili Shiism. President Sisi awarded Saif El-Din the Order of the Nile (Egypt’s highest state honor) in appreciation for the Sultan’s support for restoration of historic religious sites, including the Imam Hussayn Mosque and Sayyida Nafisa and Sayyida Zainab shrines. Saif al-Din expressed his “deep appreciation for Egypt in promoting religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence, and openness to all religions and sects.” Non-Bohra Shia, however, reported that authorities closed the Imam Hussayn Mosque to visitors during Ashura, the day when the martyrdom of Hussein is commemorated, on July 27-28.

On August 31, Prime Minister Madbouly presided over the reinauguration of Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, the oldest synagogue in Egypt that was originally constructed in the 12th century and reconstructed in 1889. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities reportedly spent more than 6.6 million EGP ($214,000) repairing and restoring the building before the reopening. Leaders of Cairo’s Jewish community later protested that no Jews were invited to the ceremony and that the government reinaugurated the building without obtaining the community’s advance consent.

On September 18, the state inaugurated a newly restored Ottoman mosque, built by the 16th-century governor Suleiman Pasha al-Khadim, within Cairo’s historic citadel. The complex, originally built in 1528, is the city’s oldest Ottoman mosque.

During an October meeting in Suez Governorate, Minister of Awqaf Gomaa announced the state had constructed, developed, or restored more than 11,200 Sunni mosques since President Sisi came to power in 2014, at a total cost of more than 15 billion EGP ($485.4 million). At the same meeting, the Mnister thanked Suez Governor Major General Abdel Majeed Saqr for allocating 12,000 square meters (129,000 square feet) of land in the Ataqa District to build a governorate-level Islamic center. The Minister said that based on the Suez project, the South Sinai, Cairo, and New Valley governorates would receive similar centers.

In October, the Patriarchal Vicar of the Greek Orthodox Church in Alexandria and All Africa announced the government had allocated a 5,000 square meter (54,000 square foot) plot in the New Administrative Capital for a new headquarters for the patriarchate. The laying of the foundation stone for the headquarters took place on November 10.

Shia community sources and religious freedom observers again said information contained in a 2019 report by Minority Rights Group International (MRGI), an international NGO, on challenges facing the country’s Shia community remained valid. The NGO’s report stated that there continued to be no Shia congregational halls (husseiniyas) in the country and Shia Muslims remained unable to establish public places of worship.

In April, the NGO IMPACT-se examined 271 textbooks of the national curricula and issued a report describing the Education Ministry’s efforts to enact a year-by-year reform of its national school curriculum that began in 2018 with first grade and scheduled to conclude in 2030 with grade 12. According to IMPACT-se, the reformed curriculum textbooks promoted general concepts of peace and tolerance, teach principles of coexistence, justice, and equality, respect for others, and common values shared by monotheistic religions within society. According to the report, however, as-yet unrevised textbooks remained problematic. Specifically, the report found passages from unrevised textbooks that reflected harmful attitudes toward Jews and referred to Israel as an “illegal, colonialist entity.”

In a separate November report, IMPACT-se examined the curriculum used in the al-Azhar religious schools, a separate elementary and secondary school system that receives government subsidies and publishes its own textbooks, using them alongside textbooks published by the Ministry of Education. The report found that the curriculum promoted adherence to traditional Islamic beliefs and texts, while emphasizing a “moderate form of Islam” as envisioned by the Wasatiyya (the middle-way) which rejects Islamic extremism and militancy. According to IMPACT-se, while the curriculum supports moderation and a nominal promotion of peace and tolerance, it also harbors some intolerance towards Jews, Israel and Zionism, stating that “unbelievers” will be “punished in hell.” A textbook on branches of Islam other than Sunni considers most Shia Muslims, including Twelvers and Zaydis, as legitimate but rejects Ismailis, Ahmadis, and Baha’is as heretical.

In September, a report issued by the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy stated that “The religionization of teaching and the proliferation of conservative Islamic discourse in schools” continue to be prominent features of Egypt’s education system. The report added, “Islamic-oriented curriculums continue to be an integral part” of the educational system, with “religious education, Arabic language classes, and social studies … promot[ing] conservative Islamic values at the expense of religious pluralism and other faiths.”

In a November report, the NGO International Christian Concern published a report, 2,000 Years of Flight: Christian Persecution in Egypt that stated, “Egypt’s educational system is designed in a way that actively promotes the majoritarian Sunni view of Islam, promoting discrimination toward religious minorities. The government has made some improvements over the years, but more work remains to be done as discriminatory content remains. Topics such as language and social studies are of particular concern, with curricula containing antisemitic and discriminatory language toward Christians, Jews, and non-Sunni Muslims.”

According to reports in state and independent media, Minister of Education Reda Hegazy announced on September 10 a ban on students wearing head coverings that cover their faces, including the niqab, for the 2023-24 school year. According to reports, the Minister’s decision stated that girls would have the option to wear a hijab, but their “guardian must be aware of their daughter’s choice and that her choice was made based on her desire without pressure or coercion from any person or entity other than the guardian.” Hegazy said the decision was based on the welfare of students and limited any chance for cheating, identity theft, and other irregularities. The announcement met a mixed response from the public. Opponents of the ban said wearing the niqab was a matter of religious belief and individual choice with some calling the decision “tyrannical.” Supporters of the ban said it gave young women agency, was “a step in the right direction” for the country, and that the vast majority of the population supported the ban with only “extremists” opposing it.

Abuses Involving Discrimination or Unequal Treatment

The Personal Status Law, covering all citizens regardless of religion, remained in place. At year’s end, the cabinet had still not submitted to the House of Representatives the draft Personal Status Law for Christians that media reported the Ministry of Justice completed in late 2021; Christian representatives from multiple denominations had reviewed and agreed to the ministry’s draft. Several parliamentarians said the cabinet might submit the Personal Status Law for Christians once a new Personal Status Law for Muslims had been drafted and submitted.

Baha’is reported occasional success in filing individual petitions for recognition of marriages performed outside of Egypt, but the government appealed these recognitions in at least five cases and refused to issue marriage licenses – decisions on these five appeals remained pending at the end of the year.

In April, the Cairo Court of Appeals for Family Affairs overturned an earlier decision by a court of first instance rejecting a Coptic woman’s complaint that her share of her inheritance from her father should be equal to that of her brothers. Before the appeal, the woman was set to receive half the share of each of her brothers in line with tenets of sharia – Christians are constitutionally not subject to sharia in civil matters.

In March, President Sisi reiterated his call for an amendment of divorce laws. He stressed that no action would be taken in contravention of Islamic law, but that the government would work to ban verbal divorce; only those granted by an authorized marriage official would be acknowledged. Sisi said the measure was intended to protect families and children and promised to allow for public input to ensure the law was objective and balanced. According to a Carnegie Endowment expert, less than a month after President Sisi’s announcement, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb called for “an international conference of Islamic scholars, affirming that ‘a new rule on verbal divorce needs a new legal consensus from senior Islamic jurists.’” According to the Carnegie analysis, al-Azhar’s insistence that laws established by Islamic jurisprudence could only be changed by a new consensus among Islamic scholars renewed a power struggle between Egypt’s religious and civil authorities.

While the Coptic Orthodox Church did not bar participation in government-sponsored customary reconciliation sessions, a Church spokesperson said reconciliation sessions should not be used in lieu of the application of the law and should be restricted to “clearing the air and making amends” following sectarian disputes or violence. At least one Coptic Orthodox diocese in Upper Egypt continued to refuse to participate in reconciliation sessions, criticizing them as substitutes for criminal proceedings rather than a means of addressing attacks on Christians and their churches. Other Christian denominations reported they continued to participate in customary reconciliation sessions.

Human rights groups and some Christian community representatives continued to characterize reconciliation sessions as encroaching on the principles of nondiscrimination and citizenship and said mediators regularly pressured Christian participants to retract their statements and deny facts, leading in some cases to the dropping of criminal charges.

The Diocese of the 6th of October and Ousim demanded swift implementation of President Sisi’s instructions to construct churches in new settlements, stating that the civil authority of 6th of October City was delaying requests by the local Christian population to build a new church after more than a year and 300 official complaints by community members. The community attributed the deaths of two parishioners in a September 22 bus accident to the lack of local church, forcing the victims to seek a house of worship outside of their immediate neighborhood.

The Ministry of Awqaf provides funding for the restoration and maintenance of Islamic heritage sites. In the case of Coptic archeological or historic sites, the Coptic Church bears the entire cost of such work. Restoration and preservation of Jewish sites has been funded by a mix of government ministries, private donations, and the Drop of Milk foundation – a historical Jewish organization dedicated to protecting Egypt’s Jewish heritage.

No Christians served as presidents of the country’s 27 public universities.

Minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs Soha Samir Gendi was the only Christian in a cabinet of 32 ministers, replacing previous Minister Nabila Makram, also a Christian. Among the 27 governorates, only Damietta and Ismailia had Christian governors. The governor of Damietta was the country’s first woman Christian governor. Electoral laws reserve 24 seats for Christian candidates in the House of Representatives. During the year, the House of Representatives exceeded the quota, with 31 Christians out of a total of 596 representatives. There were 24 Christian senators – 17 elected and seven appointed by President Sisi – out of 300 seats in that chamber, including the deputy speaker.

According to MRGI, although Christians had the right to practice their religion openly, they continued to face restrictions to their cultural identity in public life and official institutions, including the media and press; marginalization in school curricula of the history of Coptic civilization; and prohibitions on the teaching of the Coptic language, despite the repeated requests of Coptic activists to official institutions.

Some Shia stated they were excluded from service in the armed forces and from employment in the security and intelligence services. One Shia community member expressed dissatisfaction that al-Azhar continued to ban education on Shia Islam in schools, requiring Shia students to study Sunni Islam.

The government generally permitted foreign religious workers in the country. Sources continued to report, however, that authorities denied some religious workers visas or refused them entry upon arrival without explanation.

Baha’is said courts inconsistently applied rules related to recognition of non-Abrahamic marriage, resulting in judges failing to recognize Baha’i marriages. Members of the community reported that the government targeted members whose marriages the state formally recognized with appeals seeking to overturn that recognition. They also cited several examples during the year of the government refusing to renew the residency visas of foreign-born spouses of Baha’is.

Members of the Jewish diaspora continued to inquire about the pace of archiving and digitizing historical community records in the government’s sole possession since 2016.

MEMRI reported on a May 4 local television interview during which military expert Major General Adel al-Omda alleged that Israel had conquered the Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War in 1967 to realize its ambitions for a “Greater Israel…in accordance with the conspiracies described in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” A separate MEMRI piece recounted an article by an official in the Ministry of Awqaf, Hussein al-Samanoudi, in which al-Samandoudi claimed “Jews are bloodthirsty plotters” and that “Hitler killed them everywhere because they tried to instigate wars and spread corruption…[the Jews] also forced the Western countries to help them settle in Palestine by concocting the ‘lies’ about [the Holocaust].”

President Sisi spoke on live television at the January 7 Coptic Christmas service at the National Cathedral, as he has done annually with the exception of 2021 due to COVID-19 precautions. Sisi’s message emphasized that “we are one Egypt,” adding the country “must be free of discrimination.”

Between May 3 and September 25, officials held the National Dialogue, a forum called by the government and intended to bring together stakeholders to discuss political and social matters; NGOs criticized the National Dialogue as tightly controlled. The sessions of the dialogue that the Human Rights and Public Freedoms Committee convened included discussions pertaining to freedom of belief and personal status laws. Participants in these sessions recommended prompt implementation of Article 53 of the constitution establishing a Discrimination Prevention Commission – one of the bases of equality in the constitution is religious belief – which would prepare an annual public report on its activities including proposals for potential legislation. The discussions also recommended “criminalizing hate speech,” while “preserving freedom of expression.”

Following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, al-Azhar announced it would issue fatwas in Hebrew to spread awareness for the Palestinian cause and, according to the magazine, Egypt Today, “stand against the Zionist lies spread by global media outlets regarding the Palestinian cause.” On November 1, al-Azhar released a statement following an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp stating “The Zionist enemy has…transformed into a rabid wolf infected with the lust for killing children, women, and innocents, delighting in feasting on their flesh and drinking their blood without restraint or accountability.” On November 23, the al-Azhar Observatory compared the “Zionist occupation” of Gaza to Nazism and ISIS terrorism.

According to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a U.S.-based NGO, and the Israeli press, the Cairo International Book Fair included several exhibits featuring antisemitic titles, including Mein Kampf, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and Henry Ford’s The International Jew. After the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement expressing concern regarding antisemitic books being sold at the fair, security officials removed at least one book on the history of Zionism that included caricatures of hook-nosed Jewish men rubbing their hands together as they appeared to plot against Egypt.

On a November 6 program on Sada al-Balad TV, Ibrahim Rida, an Islamic scholar at al-Azhar University, said Israel “was established by stealing land, occupation, slaughter, as well as slaughtering children in cold blood, which has always been a Zionist habit.”

Other Developments Affecting Religious Freedom

On August 11, the Official Gazette noted President Sisi extended the tenure of Grand Mufti Shawki Allam until August 13, 2024; absent presidential intervention, the occupant of the office of Grand Mufti cannot be older than 60 – Allam was 62 when the announcement was made.

The Ministry of Awqaf completed a project to issue a Hebrew translation of the Quran. The six-month project, according to an Awqaf spokesperson, “comes within the framework of the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Endowments’ efforts to renew religious discourse and confront extremist ideology spread by terrorist groups through distorted interpretations of the Quran.”