A NEW draft constitution for Egypt, which is expected to be
approved after a referendum this week, will mark the end of
political Islam in the country; it should offer a better life for
Christians there, the Revd Dr Andrea Zaki, General Director of the
Cairo-based Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services
(CEOSS), said. The organisation is a partner of Christian Aid.
Speaking on Monday during a visit to London, Dr Zaki said that
he was "absolutely happy with the new constitution when I compare
it with the previous one". The earlier one had been drawn up during
the rule of President Mohammed Morsi, who had been backed by the
Muslim Brotherhood.
"The most important change", Dr Zaki said, "is that it promotes
religious tolerance; it gives authority to the High Constitutional
Court, rather than religious leaders, to explain and interpret the
law." Under the previous arrangement, the interpretation of the law
reflected the attitudes of individual Muslim figures rather than
the view of an independent institution.
Opponents of the new constitution say that it leaves the
military with too much power, placing the army's budget beyond
public scrutiny, leaving the defence minister to be appointed by
generals, and civilians still liable to trial in military courts.
While Dr Zaki admits that, in some respects, "the constitution
could be better; overall it is very good, and will lead to a new
era."
Speaking about the military, he emphasised that without the
army's involvement in protecting demonstrators, the 2011 revolution
would not have been successful. In the current transition period,
Dr Zaki believes that it is natural for the military to continue to
play an important part. But this will be for a limited period
only.
Despite the flaws in the new document, in Dr Zaki's view "it has
restored our state, our freedom, our identity. The atmosphere is
quite different from the past, when we were going through a process
of Islamisation by the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, we have freedom and
pluralism."
Christians have suffered numerous attacks, on people and
property, but "today we are secure. Christians earned their
position by sacrifice and blood - citizenship was achieved by
struggle. Christians and moderate Muslims strongly support the new
constitution."
At the same time, the banning of the Muslim Brotherhood means
that Egypt is witnessing "the beginning of the end of political
Islam". Dr Zaki believes, however, that the Brotherhood has been
successful in convincing the media in the West that it is the
aggrieved party.
"The Brotherhood wants to give the impression that Egypt is an
unstable country. This is not true. We are very disappointed in the
Western media."
When asked whether he was concerned that the mass arrests of
Muslim Brotherhood leaders and supporters would result in greater
polarisation, Dr Zaki replied that, again, flawed perceptions were
distorting the truth, and the Brotherhood had only five per cent of
public support. "If the figures were 40 per cent and 60 per cent,
then there would be polarisation."
In the longer term, Dr Zaki continued, the aim should be to
achieve in Egypt "a new spirit of justice for everybody" -
including Islamists. He said that he expected many members of the
Muslim Brotherhood to be put on trial, but: "There should be no
false allegations. I want truth and justice for everyone, which is
the spirit of the new constitution."
The Muslim Brotherhood has called on Egyptians to boycott the
referendum. In contrast, the military are hoping that a strong
"Yes" vote will indicate approval of the steps it has taken to try
to restore stability.
Assuming that the new document is accepted, parliamentary and
presidential elections will be held later this year. The army
chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, will be under strong popular
pressure to stand for the presidency.