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
Tehran warned Wednesday it would “reassess” its participation in peace talks with the United States after President Donald J. Trump said Iran would have to “pay the price” as the two nations traded fire overnight.
The killing of a 22-year-old Christian man in Pakistan’s Punjab province has sparked grief and renewed concerns about the safety of religious minorities, Christian leaders told Worthy News on Wednesday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Wednesday that Israel’s military operations in Syria and Lebanon have reached the point of threatening Turkey itself, escalating a bitter war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as tensions widen across the Middle East.
U.S. inflation rose by 0.5% in May, coming up to 4.2% over the last 12 months, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Wednesday.
North Korea’s uranium-enrichment capacity could soon rise by roughly 75% once a new facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex reaches full production, according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive citing analysis from Vertic, a London-based arms-control verification group.
Israel’s Knesset on Wednesday approved in a preliminary reading a controversial Basic Law proposal that would declare Torah study a foundational value of the State of Israel and effectively recognize long-term yeshivah study as a form of meaningful service comparable to serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that Iran has “taken too long” to negotiate an agreement with the United States and said Tehran will now “have to pay the price,” signaling that Washington may be prepared to escalate military pressure after a fresh round of hostilities in the region.