US embassy cable - 05CAIRO9178

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 009178 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ELA AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, SOCI, KIRF, EG, Christians 
SUBJECT: POTENTIAL GOOD NEWS FOR EGYPT'S CHRISTIANS: 
PRESIDENT MUBARAK EASES RESTRICTIONS ON CHURCH REBUILDING 
AND REPAIR 
 
Sensitive but unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary:  President Mubarak has decreed that 
registered Christian groups will face new, less restrictive 
regulations governing repair and rebuilding of existing 
churches.  Church repair and rebuilding has been a perennial 
problem for Egypt's Christians, as documented in the 
Department's International Religious Freedom Report and 
elsewhere.  The new rules, which considerably diminish the 
regulatory process and also devolve decision making power to 
the governorates, are a potentially significant improvement 
for religious freedom in Egypt.  As with most other GOE laws 
and regulations, the proof will lie in implementation.  Post 
and others concerned with religious freedom will be watching 
closely to determine the exact impact of the new decree.  End 
summary. 
 
2.  (SBU)  The text of the President's new decree appeared on 
December 8 in the pro-Government newspaper Al-Gomhoriya. 
Post's unofficial translation is as follows: 
 
(begin translation) 
 
----------------------------------- 
Presidential Decree No 291 for 2005 
----------------------------------- 
 
The President, 
 
Having reviewed the Constitution and the (following) laws: 
 
--Law 106/1976 regarding directing and organizing 
construction works; 
--Local Government Law issued by virtue of law 43/1979; 
--The Antiquities Protection Law issued by virtue of Law 
117/1983; 
--And Presidential Decree 13/1998 delegating authority to 
governors in some areas; 
--And Presidential Decree 453/1999 regarding procedures for 
restoration of houses of worships. 
 
Has decreed the following (291/2005): 
 
Article I: 
 
Governors, in their respective jurisdictions, are delegated 
the authority of granting permits to Christian denominations 
to demolish churches and construct replacements in the same 
locations; and to rebuild, restore, or expand existing 
churches.  Requests for permits should be examined (by the 
Governors), after consulting with pertinent entities, within 
30 days of the submission of the requests, which must be 
supported by required documents.  Request for permits may not 
be turned down except with a justified ruling. 
 
Article 2: 
 
Restoration or reinforcement of existing church facilities 
may be conducted by virtue of a written notification from 
church officials to the administrative body handling 
organization affairs in each governorate. 
 
Article 3: 
 
Presidential Decree Number 453/1999 noted above is canceled. 
 
Article 4 
 
The decree shall be published in the official Gazette and 
takes effect effective the date of its publication. 
 
(end translation) 
 
Decree 291/2005 appeared in the GOE Gazette on December 8, 
2005.  We believe that it is now in force. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Mubarak's last major effort to ameliorate the 
church repair problem came in 1999 with law 453.  As noted in 
the Department's most recent Report on International 
Religious Freedom: 
 
(begin 2005 IRFR excerpt) 
 
In 1999, President Mubarak issued Decree 453, making the 
repair of all places of worship subject to a 1976 civil 
construction code. This decree places repair of churches and 
mosques on equal footing under the law. However, permits for 
such repairs are still subject to approval by local 
administrative and security officials. Even though mosque and 
church repairs are now subject to the same laws, authorities 
enforce the laws more strictly for churches than for mosques. 
Security officials also sometimes deny or delay permits for 
the supply of water and electricity. Incidents of blocked or 
delayed permits vary, often depending on the attitude of 
local security officials and the governorate leadership 
toward the church, and on their personal relationships with 
representatives of the Christian churches. 
 
(end 2005 IRFR excerpt) 
 
Article Two of the new decree appears to eliminate the need 
for church officials to wait for approval for repairs.  Under 
the new law, they will be able simply to notify the 
authorities and proceed with their work. 
4.  (SBU)  Although it is too soon to say definitively that 
that the new decree will lead to a major improvement in 
religious freedom for Egypt's Christians, the initial 
reaction in Cairo has been favorable.  Comments reported in 
Al-Ahram on December 8 included the following: 
 
--Father Morcos Aziz, Priest of the Hanging Church, Old 
Cairo:  "Our feeling of citizenship has increased." 
 
--Hamdy Zagzoug, Minister of Islamic Endowments:  "The decree 
emphasizes equality in demolishing/erecting houses of 
worship.  There is now no difference between a mosque and a 
church.  This is a decision that makes Copts happy and that 
we Muslims welcome." 
 
--Adly Hussien, Governor of Qalyoubya:  "I welcome this 
decision, which was a request of the Governors before being a 
request for Copts.  This will entirely eliminate the problem 
of churches." 
 
--General Salah Salama, Governor of Kafr El Shiekh (and 
rumored by Cairo salons to be a potential replacement to 
Interior Minister Habib Al-Adly):  "The necessity is for all 
concerned both in churches and Executive agencies to submit 
the necessary documentation in order to achieve the desired 
result." 
 
--Safwat Al Biady, Head of the Evangelical Church:  "The 
decision...achieves an important desire for Christians.  It 
is similar (in its significance) to the amendment of Article 
76 of the constitution." 
 
5.  (SBU)  Comment:  We note several significant positive 
developments with the new decree: 
 
--Basic repairs short of reconstruction can now proceed with 
simple notification (vice waiting for official approval); 
 
--Demolition and reconstruction of derelict churches will be 
governed by decisions at the governorate level; 
 
--The requirement that the governorates respond to 
reconstruction requests within thirty days suggests that 
Christian groups will have legal recourse to the courts if 
any local level officials are unduly tardy in responding to 
reconstruction applications. 
 
Regrettably, the new decree does not appear to affect the 
issue of onerous regulations (the long-standing Homayuni 
Decree) governing the construction of new churches.  In 
addition, if we see any potential problem with the new 
decree, it would lie with the language in Article One about 
the need for applications to be supported "by required 
documents."  Local interpretation of this requirement, as 
well as the local views of Governors and their staffs towards 
Egypt's Christian minority, will now play a key role in the 
success of this decree.  We will also be watching to see how 
this new decree is received by Muslim groups, especially 
those critical of the GOE.  End comment. 
 
 
RICCIARDONE