Egyptians Want Change To Church Construction Law After Deadly Church Fire incident

Many civilians in Egypt are calling on the government to reform discriminatory laws restricting the building of churches in Egypt.

This comes following a fire at a Coptic Orthodox church that killed 41 people, including 18 children, last Sunday, and injured 14 others at the Abu Sefein Church in Imbaba, Cairo.

On Tuesday, a fire broke out in another church in the governorate of Minya in Upper Egypt due to an electrical short circuit.

While there were no casualties, it is the latest in a string of fires in Coptic churches.

Churches in Egypt face safety issues which includes narrow church doors creating poor emergency exits, fully-packed people at smaller church buildings causing a stampede at the point of emergency, and others.

Amr Magdi, a researcher with Human Rights Watch said; "The organisation is concerned that we will see more victims of unsafe conditions in places of worships.

“Egyptian authorities should amend the church building law of 2016 to remove all discriminatory restrictions.

"Ideally, the government should draft a common law for worship houses for all – Muslims, Christians, and beyond.”

In 2016, the Egyptian government introduced a new law to govern the building of churches, which the decision-making is from the local governors.

However, the law has stringent requirements for churches to qualify for permits.

This made it impossible to build or renovate most churches.

As a result, Christian communities began covertly using commercial or industrial buildings as churches.

Many churches are modifying these structures, ranging from homes to factories in narrow alleyways, to make them fit for purpose.