[Reviewer’s Note: The Maspero Youth Union staged protest outside the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-'Abbāssīyah to call on acting patriarch Bishop Pachomius and members of the Millī (Laymen) Council to withdraw the representatives of the church from the assembly. The Union activists said the church's representatives have failed to protect the articles of the constitution, considering developments in the panel as "a putsch against the civil state".]

The assembly’s mainstays committee is Monday (July 30) settling the controversy over Article II of the constitution that erupted again after the Azhar asked for the omission of a paragraph granting it authority to interpret the word ‘principles’ of the sharī’ah.

[Reviewer’s Note: Article II of the Egyptian Constitution reads, “Islam is the official religion of the state, Arabic its official language and the principles of Islamic sharī’ah are the main source of legislation”. Salafists seek removing the word ‘principles’ or replacing it with the word ‘rulings’]

The assembly spokesman, Dr. Wahīd ‘Abd al-Majīd, said several proposals to amend the article will be debated today (Monday) in a bid to reach a draft that is satisfactory to all parties. [Hamdī Dabash and Ghādah Muhammad al-Sharīf, al-Misrī al-Yawm, July 30, p. 4] Read original text in Arabic