An Egyptian Coptic Church
EGYPT- Less than a week after the new law facilitating the building of churches was approved by Egypt’s parliament last week, a Muslim MP has taken the initiative of submitting the first request to build a new church in his native governorate of Assiut in Upper Egypt.
“I wanted it recorded in history that a Muslim was the first to submit a request for building a church in Egypt after the passing of the new landmark law,” the independent MP, El-Badri Ahmed Deif, told reporters Saturday.
This request aims to build new bridges of confidence between Muslims and Christians and foster national unity in Egypt.”
The government says the long-awaited law has made it much easier for anyone looking to build or restore a church in the country, getting rid of much of the red tape and obstacles faced by Christians who for decades have not enjoyed the same rights as Muslims in building or maintaining their places of worship.