

(AFP Photo)
The United States Department of State published its annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 on Monday. The section of the report regarding Egypt said that while the constitution includes provisions for freedom of religion, it also contains restrictions on these freedoms.
The report compiled by the Democracy, Human Rights and Labour Bureau of the State Department includes an 18-page section on Egypt discussing the status of religious freedoms in 2012. The report on Egypt is split into four sections: religious demography, status of government respect for religious freedom, status of societal respect for religious freedom, and US government policy.
The report highlights some of the major issues regarding freedom of religion in Egypt, such as sectarian divisions, recognition of religious minorities, the legal status of religion, anti-Semitism, and the governmentâs response to these issues.
The report starts by pointing out that Egyptâs new constitution, ratified in December 2012 does âprovide for some freedom of religionâ. However, it asserts that âcertain constitutional provisions, laws and government policies and practices limit that freedomâ. On the constitution itself the report states, âsome provisions provide less protection than the previous constitutionâ. It also criticises the âambiguous clauseâ that subjects the right to worship to regulation by the law. The report claims that the clause implies that religions not recognised by the government, such as Bahaâi, âare precluded from applying their own religious laws and restricted from building places of worshipâ.
Concern was also raised over the interpretation of Articles 2 and 4 of the constitution designating that Islam is the official religion of the state and that the âprinciples of Shariaâ are the primary source of legislation. The concern lies with the ambiguity of this statement, as some believe that Al-Azhar has âthe authority to define and interpret Shariaâ, while others believe the courts have this authority.
A sub-section entitled âGovernment Practicesâ noted that âthe government failed to protect Christians and their property effectively when they were attacked in Dahshur, Alexandria and Rafah.â It added that the government âoften failed to investigate and prosecute crimes against Christians and other religious minoritiesâ, highlighting the Maspero massacre of October 2011. The report also said that in 2012 the government âcontinued to harass Shiâas and prohibit conversion from Islamâ. The report did, however, add that some religious minority groups âreported a decline in government harassmentâ.
There are also concerns over blasphemy laws, which were enforced in Egypt during 2012, as with the case of atheist blogger Alber Saber. The report also noted that âcourts sometimes sentenced Christians to prison terms that exceeded those given to Muslims accused of the same crimeâ.
On the status of societal respect for religious freedom the report said, âthere were reports of societal abuse or discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief or practice.â Despite this, âlethal sectarian attacks decreasedâ in 2012.
The report also discussed anti-Semitism in Egypt and cited the Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie calling on âMuslims to unite and be willing to shed their own blood against âJews [who] have only increased the corruption in the worldââ. It also highlights an incident in October 2012 when President Mohamed Morsi said âAmenâ during televised prayers in response to a prayer calling for the destruction of the Jewish people.
The report included a section entitled âPositive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedomâ, which begins: âthe government sometimes sent extra security forces to protect churches and prevent escalation of conflictâ. It went on to point out that the government did provide extra security and compensation for victims of religious based violence. Also highlighted were incidents when perpetrators of religiously motivated crimes were punished, including the handing down of the death sentence to Amer Ashour, a police cadet who murdered a Copt and injured five others on a train in January 2011.
The report praised Morsi for holding two meetings with representatives of the Christian churches during the first months of his presidency, which was âsomething President Mubarak nor the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces had done in decadesâ.
The section on US policy stressed that the US is supporting initiatives to increase religious freedoms in Egypt. It also pointed out that embassy officials and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were in contact with the Egyptian side throughout 2012 to promote religious freedoms.