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 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A federal appeals court on Tuesday temporarily allowed the Trump administration to continue collecting its 10% global tariff, pausing a lower-court ruling that found the import duties unlawful for three plaintiffs who had won relief last week. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a short-term administrative stay while it considers whether to keep the tariffs in place during the government’s appeal.
Saudi Arabia launched covert airstrikes inside Iran during the recent Middle East war, according to a Reuters exclusive citing two Western officials and two Iranian officials — a move that, if confirmed, would mark the first known Saudi military action carried out directly on Iranian soil. The reported strikes came in late March after the kingdom suffered Iranian attacks, including missile and drone strikes that exposed vulnerabilities in the U.S.-backed security umbrella protecting Gulf Arab states.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday that Russia had successfully test-fired its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile — nicknamed “Satan II” by NATO — declaring it the most powerful missile in the world and saying it would enter combat service by the end of 2026.
Hungary’s new government signaled Monday it will continue buying Russian energy despite European Union plans to phase out imports of Russian oil and natural gas, raising the prospect of an early confrontation with Brussels.
More than 100 new evangelical churches have reportedly opened and thousands of people have been baptized in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022, church leaders say.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said an agreement between Iran and the United States may be the best path to ending Israeli military operations in Lebanon, while defiantly rejecting any outside demand that the Iranian-backed terrorist group disarm.
U.S. federal prosecutors announced criminal charges Tuesday against the operator of the cargo ship that struck and destroyed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024, killing six construction workers.