Egypt passes new church building law amid controversy

The Egyptian parliament approved on 30 August a bill on building and restoring churches, changing the restrictions that have been in place for more than 160 years.

The three main churches in Egypt — Orthodox, Catholic and Evangelical — have accepted the law, which has been long awaited by Christians.

However, several Christian activists, political parties and groups have criticised it. They describe the measure as "sectarian", dashing their hopes for a unified law applicable to all places of worship.

Christians are estimated to make up 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 90 million, and have long complained about discrimination and the difficulties they face when wanting to build a church…