http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NTI3MDE0MjQx
Egypt to draft new law on remarriage for Copts Published Date: June 15, 2010 CAIRO: Egypt's Justice Ministry yesterday announced it is drafting a new law to regulate marriage and divorce for the country's religious minorities, following an outcry over a court decision that would allow Christians to remarry. Assistant Justice Minister Omar El-Sherif said that a 30-member committee will take a month to compose the draft bill. He says the law will not encroach on beliefs of any of the country's religious groups. The move is likely an effort to deflect anger from Egypt's Coptic Church after a court last month ruled to allow divorced Copts to remarry. Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic church, strongly condemned the verdict issued last month, which he said goes against the law of the Bible. He said priests who perform these marriages, along with those requesting to remarry, will not be allowed to enter the church again as they are considered "deviants." Only those whose spouses have committed adultery are allowed to remarry, according to the church. Copts can obtain a civil divorce from the state, but only marriages within a church are officially recognized, essentially preventing divorced Copts from a second marriage. Church supporters described the court ruling as an attack on their religion by the state, though some Copts have long been calling for the right to divorce and remarry. "The (new) law is to ensure everyone's right to worship God according to their own set of rules," Justice Minister Mahmoud Marei told the state news agency. Islam is the dominant religion of Egypt. Copts make up less than 10 percent of the population and often complain about discrimination.-AP
