Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) – In the debate on reform of the Egyptian Constitution, there are various positions on keeping or deleting Article 2, which establishes that the Sharia (Islamic law) is the main source of the law. In essence there are three positions.
Firstly, there are those who would like to eliminate or change this article. Some of these people are: Naghib Sawires, famous Coptic Orthodox entrepreneur, head of the Mobinil telephone company in Egypt and of ORASCO; Muhammad El Baradai, Nobel peace prize winner, former Director General of the International Agency for Atomic Energy and a leading figure among the Tahrir Square demonstrators who pushed Mubarak to resign; Husain Abd del Razi, a Muslim intellectual and member of the Executive Council of the Union party, which is in favour of a secular state.
The second position, held by many, is that this is not the time to talk about article two, because it will result in strong divisions within Egyptian society. The issue may be considered at another time. Among the people who support this solution include: Tariq el Bishri, former judge of the State Council, appointed by the Supreme Committee of the Armed Forces, president of the committee to rewrite or amend the Egyptian Constitution. Bishri is considered one of the leading Egyptian intellectuals. He was a consultant to several groups of young activists including Kifayah (“We have had enough”) that can be considered the starting point of the groups which initiated and carried out the recent revolution. The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed El-Tayeb, said that Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution should not be changed because it could lead to sectarian tensions. El-Tayeb said that the article is one of the pillars of Egypt. Its change may take place further along the road to freedom and democracy.
Finally, there is a third position, that of those who do not want to change Article 2. These include: Mohammad Salim al-Awa, former Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in London, President of the Egyptian Association for Culture and Dialogue, and member of the Muslim Brotherhood; Sheikh Mohammed Hassan, a preacher popular and, in general, the Muslim Brotherhood.(LM) (Agenzia Fides 19/2/2011)
