Al-Azhar, Salafi leaders reach agreement on Sharia

Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb and Salafi leaders met Wednesday evening to discuss the role of Sharia in the new constitution, with Salafis reportedly softening their position in exchange for other concessions.  

In the 1971 Constitution and the Constitutional Declaration, Article 2 states, “The principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Sharia) are the main source of legislation.” Salafis have demanded that the word “principles” be removed from the article.

A Salafi leader who attended the meeting told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Thursday that Tayyeb convinced them to keep Article 2 as is, although the Salafi leaders are asking that a clarification for the clause be added. In exchange, the new constitution would not stipulate that Egypt is a civil state.

Nour Party deputy head Sayed Mostafa, who is a member of the Constituent Assembly, added that “discussions with Al-Azhar have not concluded yet, but our party agrees to keep the word ‘principles’ upon conditions we will announce later.”

Edward Ghaleb, Constituent Assembly member and the secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church, said, “The majority of assembly members agree that Article 2 should not be changed, but that a clause should be added stating that non-Muslims shall resort to legislation derived from their own religions."

The Coptic Church threatened to withdraw its Constituent Assembly representatives Wednesday over concerns the new constitution will not represent minorities.

Church leaders discussed the potential withdrawal Wednesday in an all-day meeting, according to Bishop Benjamin of Monufiya. At the heart of the discussion was the ongoing debate within the assembly over whether Article 2 should be changed.