by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – In an apparent effort to improve its relations with Egypt’s Christian community, the Islamic Egyptian government last month approved the legalization of 293 previously unlicensed churches and service buildings, All Arab News (AAN) reports.
Following recommendations from the Main Committee under Article 8 of Law No. 80 from 2016, the legalization approval was given during a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly on October 21.
Egypt will now have 3,453 churches and worship centers with legal status,
“Since the passing of that law, Egypt has moved to legalize churches built without prior approval, as well as authorizing the construction of new churches,” AAN said in its report. “The law was meant to address significant administrative and security hurdles in approving the construction of new churches following complaints from the Coptic Christian community.”
In a recent report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom confirmed: “Religious freedom conditions in Egypt are trending tentatively in a positive direction.”
“The country has seen a decrease in radical Islamist violence and anti-Christian mob attacks, some progress in implementing the registration process for unlicensed churches and related buildings, and the launch of a government program to address religious intolerance in rural areas,” the USCIRF noted.
Nevertheless, the USCIRF cautioned: “Systematic and ongoing religious inequalities remain affixed in the Egyptian state and society, and various forms of religious bigotry and discrimination continue to plague the country’s Coptic Christians and other religious minorities.”
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A branch of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the umbrella group of major denominations, has urged calm after a truck crashed into an Easter procession of pilgrims, killing at least five people and injuring numerous others.
The body of the late Pope Francis will be transferred to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to lie in state until his funeral on Saturday morning, the Vatican announced.
At a memorial ceremony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s determination to achieve all objectives in the war against Hamas and dismissed fears of internal unrest, declaring, “There will be no civil war—there will be no civil war.”
A House Republican panel is recommending criminal charges against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, alleging the Democrat made false statements to Congress during his testimony on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urged Christians to pray for the Catholic Church following Pope Francis’s death.
A Christian man sentenced to death for blasphemy against Islam in the eastern Pakistani town of Jaranwala will appeal the verdict, Worthy News learned Easter Monday.
China on Monday warned it will retaliate against countries that align with the U.S. in ways that harm Beijing’s interests, as the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies increasingly entangles other nations. Beijing specifically cautioned against trade agreements with Washington that come at China’s expense, vowing countermeasures in response.