State Support For First Ever Egyptian Christmas National Holiday

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State Support For First Ever Egyptian Christmas National Holiday

By Rowland Croucher and others ⋅ January 9, 2003 ⋅ Post a comment

CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE

For immediate release

January 8 2003

STATE SUPPORT FOR FIRST EVER EGYPTIAN CHRISTMAS NATIONAL HOLIDAY

Egyptians, including President Mubarak’s son, marked Christmas for the first time as a national holiday.

Gamal Mubarak and senior public officials took the unusual step of joining Egypt’s Coptic Christians to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas on January 7.

Pope Shenouda III, the Coptic Patriarch, led mass in Abbassiya Cathedral in Cairo, during which he praised President Mubarak for his decision to declare the day a national holiday.

Muslims and Christians stayed at home, leaving the streets of Cairo empty as citizens enjoyed Egypt’s 18th national holiday, according to the Associated Press.

Although several Islamic festivals have long been national holidays, Christmas is the first Christian festival to be recognised by the state in this way.

The Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7, according to the Julian Calendar followed by most Orthodox believers.

Christians in Egypt have welcomed the declaration of Christmas as a holiday and are hoping that such a move will prove a stepping stone in the Government’s addressing of further key Coptic grievances.

Mamdouh Nakhla, General Manager of the Word Centre for Human Rights, based in Cairo said: “We hope this decision will be followed by other brave steps such as abolishing the Hamayouni Decree and removing religious affiliation from ID cards. Steps such as these would help to ensure that there is no discrimination between Egyptian citizens on religious grounds and Egypt would truly become a nation for all its citizens.”

Relations between Muslims and Christians in Egypt are generally peaceable, but Christians face discrimination in a number of areas including public sector employment, education, the construction and maintenance of places of worship and the status of converts from Islam. Christians have also been victims of communal violence in the past, where churches have been targeted by mobs. In early 2000, 21 Christians lost their lives in the worst sectarian violence the country has seen in decades. A final verdict from the trial related to this episode is expected on January 27.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW, said: “We welcome this decision by President Mubarak to mark Christmas as a national holiday and are glad the day passed peacefully. We look forward to further initiatives by the Government of Egypt to eliminate existing discrimination between religious groups.”

For more information, contact Richard Chilvers at Christian Solidarity Worldwide on 020 8949 0587 or 020 8942 8810 or email or go to http://www.csw.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Hamayouni Decree is based on an 1856 Ottoman law governing the construction of Christian places of worship. It was amplified as the Al-Ezabi Decree in 1934 as a set of ten conditions which have to be met before any application to construct places of worship can take place. Applications require personal approval from the President of Egypt. These requirements are not necessary for the construction of Muslim places of worship.

Although some concessions have been made regarding repairs made to church properties in recent years, presidential approval for construction of new places of worship is still required.

The constitutionality of the Hamayouni Decree is being challenged in law and will come before court on January 28 this year.

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