The legal foundation for the Egyptian state's control of church property was the Ottoman Hamayouni Decree of 1856. This decree sought to eliminate discrimination between citizens of different ethnicities and religions. Amongst other things, it gave Christians the right to construct places of worship by requiring them to submit a request to the Sultan.
After Egypt gained its independence, the Hamayouni Decree was modified in 1934 by the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Al-Ezabi Pacha in the Al-Ezabi Decree. This comprised a set of 10 conditions which had to be met before any application was presented to the President for approval. These vague criteria include taking into account objections from local Muslims, the distance between the proposed church and the nearest mosque, the number of Christians in the area and whether or not the proposed church is near the Nile, public utility or railway. Human rights monitors have stated that the conditions of the decree are in contradiction with the 1971 constitution. The Al-Ezabi "amplification" has, in reality, served to hinder Christians and other religious minorities from maintaining and building places of worship.
Regarding repairs to church property, progress has been made over the past few years following considerable national and international criticism of the decree. In January 1998, an amendment was made which delegated presidential authority to issue permits for church renovation to the country's 26 provincial governors. On December 28, 1999, President Mubarak decreed that church repairs no longer required a presidential, governor's or federal ministry permit. Instead, the repair of all places of worship was to be subject to a 1976 civil construction code, symbolically placing the repair of mosques and churches on equal footing before the law.
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A mosque, also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) are performed, including outdoor courtyards.
Al-Aqsa Mosque or Jami' Al-Aqsa, also known as the Qibli Mosque, and in some sources also al-Masjid al-'Aqṣā, is a congregational mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located within, and commonly named after, the Masjid al-Aqsa, which is also known as the Haram al-Sharif, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and the Temple Mount.
During its long history, Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world.
Islam is the dominant religion in Egypt with around an estimated 90.3% of the population. Almost the entirety of Egypt's Muslims are Sunnis, with a very small minority of Shia.Islam has been recognized as the state religion since 1980. Since there has been no religious census, the actual percentage of Muslims is not known: the percentage of Christians are estimated to be between 5 and 15%.
The Umayyad Mosque, also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, located in the old city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. Its religious importance stems from the eschatological reports concerning the mosque, and historic events associated with it. Christian and Muslim tradition alike consider it the burial place of John the Baptist's head, a tradition originating in the 6th century. Muslim tradition holds that the mosque will be the place Jesus will return before the End of Days. Two shrines inside the premises commemorate the Islamic prophet Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali, whose martyrdom is frequently compared to that of John the Baptist and Jesus.
Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam. Although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque, or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque, is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as jumu'ah. It can also host the Eid prayers in situations when there is no musalla or eidgah available nearby to host the prayers. In early Islamic history, the number of congregational mosques in one city was strictly limited. As cities and populations grew over time, it became more common for many mosques to host Friday prayers in the same area.
Freedom of religion in Tajikistan is provided for in Tajikistan's constitution. The country is secular by law. However, respect for religious freedom has eroded during recent years, creating some areas of concern.
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and does not establish a state religion; however, in practice the Government imposes legal restrictions on all forms of religious expression. All groups must register in order to gain legal status; unregistered religious activity is illegal and may be punished by administrative fines. While the 1996 law on religion and subsequent 1999 amendments had effectively restricted registration to only the two largest groups, Sunni Muslim and Russian Orthodox, and criminalized unregistered religious activity, presidential decrees issued in 2000 dramatically reduced the numerical thresholds for registration and abolished criminal penalties for unregistered religious activity; civil penalties remain. As a result, nine minority religious groups were able to register, and the Turkmenistan government has permitted some other groups to meet quietly with reduced scrutiny.
Myanmar has been under the rule of repressive authoritarian military regimes since 1962. After the 1974 Socialist constitution was suspended in 1988, constitutional protection of religious freedom has not existed, after the bloody suppression of the 8888 Uprising. The authorities generally permitted most adherents of registered religious groups to worship as they choose; however, the government imposed restrictions on certain religious activities and is accused of abusing the right to freedom of religion.
The Constitution provides for the freedom to practice the rights of one's religion and faith in accordance with the customs that are observed in the kingdom, unless they violate public order or morality. The state religion is Islam. The Government prohibits conversion from Islam and proselytization of Muslims.
The Constitution of Yemen provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice; however, there were some restrictions. The Constitution declares that Islam is the state religion, and that Shari'a is the source of all legislation. Government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion; however, there were some restrictions. Muslims and followers of religious groups other than Islam are free to worship according to their beliefs, but the Government prohibits conversion from Islam and the proselytization of Muslims. Although relations among religious groups continued to contribute to religious freedom, there were some reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious belief or practice. There were isolated attacks on Jews and some prominent Zaydi Muslims felt targeted by government entities for their religious affiliation. Government military reengagement in the Saada governorate caused political, tribal, and religious tensions to reemerge in January 2007, following the third military clash with rebels associated with the al-Houthi family, who adhere to the Zaydi school of Shi'a Islam.
Historically, Freedom of religion in Russia has often changed to suit the political context. Currently, Russia is a mostly (Russian) Orthodox society, with significant minority religions within Russia's borders, protected by law under the Constitution of Russia.
The Hamayouni Decree or "Hamayony Khat" is a clause in Egyptian law that placed restrictions on the construction and maintenance of Coptic places of worship. The decree was part of the Ottoman Reform Edict of 1856 which sought to address inequalities between Muslim and non-Muslim citizens, mainly affecting the Coptic Christian minority. The law mandated that the Ottoman Sultan must issue permits for any construction or maintenance of churches, and the Coptic Pope had to apply for all such permits. After the end of Ottoman rule, only the king, and then the President of Egypt could issue these permits, although in 1999, under the administration of Hosni Mubarak, the law was changed to also allow Egyptian Governors to grant permits. The decree is often confused with the 1934 Ten Conditions of Al-Ezabi, which enlarged the restrictions and added ten limiting conditions. Although the original decree amended a ban on the construction of Coptic churches, today it is the subject of controversies over religious freedom.
A constitutional referendum was held in Egypt on 19 March 2011, following the 2011 Egyptian revolution. More than 14 million (77%) were in favour, while around 4 million (23%) opposed the changes; 41% of 45 million eligible voters turned out to vote.
Laila Takla is a Coptic Egyptian politician, author, and promoter of positive Muslim-Christian relations. Together with Saba Pasha Habachy, she founded International Legal Consultants Egypt in 1977.
Mohamed Mohamed Morsi Eissa al-Ayyat was an Egyptian politician and engineer who served as the fifth president of Egypt, from 30 June 2012 to 3 July 2013, when General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi removed him from office in a coup d'état after protests in June. An Islamist affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood organisation, Morsi led the Freedom and Justice Party from 2011 to 2012.
The status of religious freedom in Africa varies from country to country. States can differ based on whether or not they guarantee equal treatment under law for followers of different religions, whether they establish a state religion, the extent to which religious organizations operating within the country are policed, and the extent to which religious law is used as a basis for the country's legal code.
The history of Jerusalem during the Early Muslim period covers the period between the capture of the city from the Byzantines by the Arab Muslim armies of the nascent Caliphate in 637–638 CE, and its conquest by the European Catholic armies of the First Crusade in 1099. Throughout this period, Jerusalem remained a largely Christian city with smaller Muslim and Jewish communities. It was successively part of several Muslim states, beginning with the Rashidun caliphs of Medina, the Umayyads of Syria, the Abbasids of Baghdad and their nominal Turkish vassals in Egypt, and the Fatimid caliphs of Cairo, who struggled over it with the Turkic Seljuks and different other regional powers, only to finally lose it to the Crusaders.
On 14 August 2022, a fire broke out at the Abu Sefein Church, a Coptic church in the Imbaba neighborhood of Giza on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. The fire started during Sunday worship services when nearly 5,000 worshippers were gathered. The fire, which investigations found started due to a faulty air-conditioning unit, spread to a nursery the church hosted, killing 41 people in total throughout the complex, including at least 18 children. One of the church's priests named Abdūl Masīh Bakhīt was among those who died in the fire.