Over the past decades, numerous polls have demonstrated that the majority of Egyptians want shari’a - or Islamic principles - applied to parts of their country's legal system. Egypt’s constitution reflects this: Article 2 of the constitution states that shari’a is the principle source of legislation.
Even with the popular support that Article 2 has in Egypt, it has also been the source of heated controversy. Voices from the Coptic Orthodox Christian community in Egypt, which makes up 12 per cent of the population, contest what they perceive as implied discrimination against the non-Muslim minority in this article. Secularist human rights and pro-democracy activists express similar views, saying that the application of Islamic law is incompatible with democracy, which they argue can exist only in a secular state. [altmuslim] Read more
