Egypt Approves Legal Status for Nearly 300 Churches and Christian Centers

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

Hours After Trump Says MOU Is Over, U.S. Launches Second Wave of Attacks on Iran
Hours After Trump Says MOU Is Over, U.S. Launches Second Wave of Attacks on Iran

Hours after President Donald Trump declared that the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was “over,” American forces launched a second wave of strikes against Iran, widening a fast-moving crisis that began with Tehran’s attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

UN Watch Accuses UNESCO of Listing Hamas, PIJ Operatives as Gaza Journalists
UN Watch Accuses UNESCO of Listing Hamas, PIJ Operatives as Gaza Journalists

UN Watch released a report Wednesday accusing UNESCO of repeatedly identifying alleged Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives killed in Gaza as journalists, while failing to correct the record after terror affiliations were later reported or acknowledged.

Trump Administration Credits Law-and-Order Agenda as Major Cities Report Historic Homicide Lows
Trump Administration Credits Law-and-Order Agenda as Major Cities Report Historic Homicide Lows

The Trump administration is crediting its aggressive law-and-order agenda for a historic decline in homicides across major U.S. cities, as early crime data points to some of the lowest murder rates recorded in more than a century.

Democrats Moving Sharply Away from Israel According to Latest AP Poll
Democrats Moving Sharply Away from Israel According to Latest AP Poll

A new AP-NORC poll has put numbers behind a political earthquake long felt by Israel’s supporters: the Democratic Party’s base is turning sharply against the Jewish state. After nearly two years of war following Hamas’ October 7 massacre, Democratic voters are no longer merely criticizing Israeli policy; growing numbers now believe America is too supportive of Israel, too unsupportive of the Palestinians, and willing to embrace accusations against Israel that Republicans overwhelmingly reject.

Iran Moves To Seize Tehran’s Oldest Protestant Church
Iran Moves To Seize Tehran’s Oldest Protestant Church

Iranian authorities are moving to confiscate Tehran’s historic St. Peter’s Evangelical Church and evict Christian families from the church compound, marking another escalation in the Islamic Republic’s long campaign to suppress Protestant Christianity and restrict public Christian worship.

Deadly Strikes As Ukraine Hits Russia’s Largest Oil Refinery and Trump Signals Patriot Shift
Deadly Strikes As Ukraine Hits Russia’s Largest Oil Refinery and Trump Signals Patriot Shift

At least three people were killed and dozens more injured Wednesday as Russia and Ukraine exchanged fresh long-range attacks, while Kyiv struck deep inside Russia, forcing the shutdown of the country’s largest oil refinery and raising fresh concerns about the Kremlin’s fuel supplies.

NATO Faces Fresh Rift As Denmark Vows To Defend Greenland After Trump Renews Bid For US Control
NATO Faces Fresh Rift As Denmark Vows To Defend Greenland After Trump Renews Bid For US Control

The NATO military alliance, long seen as a symbol of unity among Western allies, faced growing internal strife Wednesday as Denmark vowed to defend its territory after U.S. President Donald J. Trump again insisted that the United States should control the strategically located Arctic territory of Greenland.