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Africa North
Egypt legalizes 216 more unlicensed churches
2023-05-17
[AlAhram] Egypt approved on Monday the legalization of an additional 216 Christian churches that had been operating without a permit as the government continues efforts to promote freedom of worship.

This brings up the number of churches that have been legalized by the government in the past seven years to 2,815.

In 2016, parliament passed legislation easing the construction and renovation of churches as part of the government's efforts to guarantee freedom of worship.

In 2017, as per the 2016 legislation, the cabinet established a committee to review all requests to legalize the status of hundreds of unpermitted places of worship.

Comprising 10 members, the committee headed by the prime minister includes representatives from various Christian sects, six government officials from different ministries, as well as representatives from the national security and intelligence apparatus and the administrative control body.
Posted by:trailing wife

#5  This sounds very impressive, but there are two problems:

1. For every church authorized to build or rebuild, some order of magnitude of mosques are likewise approved — and the government pays for mosques, while Christian congregations must pay for their own work, if they can find workers.

2. Even the the central government hands out a small number of construction/renovation permits, often the local government or the immediate local Moslem community connive to prevent the work from being done, or destroy the thing afterward.
Posted by: trailing wife   2023-05-17 22:14  

#4   How many synagogues?

Just one has been renovated, as I recall — I believe serving the last remaining Jewish congregation in Egypt, in Alexandria. As I recall there are well under fifty members, with an average age of something like 65. But like Jewish sites elsewhere, the large government investment is intended to pay out in tourist dollars as former residents and their descendants make pilgrimages to see where Gran and Gramps lived.
Posted by: trailing wife   2023-05-17 22:00  

#3  Agree with #1 NN2N1. But still, this is encouraging, especially in a large, Moslem-majority country in the Middle East.
Posted by: Tom   2023-05-17 10:57  

#2  How many synagogues?
Posted by: Skidmark   2023-05-17 09:49  

#1  Interesting.
But, If any Government must give its OK for permission to do, or have something. Then its a Government controlled privilege, and not a Right.

eg. USA Firearms
Posted by: NN2N1   2023-05-17 05:50  

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