Egypt limits Islamic Law in Key Articles passed in Draft of New Constitution

Egypt's draft constitution is made up of a four-page preamble and 247 articles. On Saturday, the country's 50-member constituent assembly voted on 138 articles, limiting the scope of Islamic law, or Shariah, in legislation and introducing new articles seen as victory to rights advocates.

The draft is a milestone in the path toward democratic rule after the stunning ouster of Egypt's elected Islamist president in a July military coup and the suspension of a previous constitution passed under his watch.

Some of the key points that caught my Eye were:

On "Civilian" government:

In the preamble, the draft states: "we, now, are writing a constitution that continues to build a democratic, modern country with a civilian government." The word "civilian" in Arabic indicates non-religious and non-military. The term had stirred anger among ultraconservative Islamists who consider it synonymous with "secularist."

On Discrimination:

Citizens are equal before the law; they are equal in rights, freedoms and public duties, without discrimination on the basis of religion, belief, gender, origin, race, color, language, disability, social status, political affiliation, geographical location or any other reason. Discrimination and inciting hatred is a crime punishable by law. The state is obliged to take necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination, and the law regulates the establishment of an independent commission for this purpose.

Read the full article HERE.

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