The Egyptian government granted legal status to 191 churches and church-affiliated buildings, pointing to the nation’s greater efforts to remedy the non-licensed statuses of thousands of Christian congregations.
After a May 19 cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli, the government approvals were issued to the churches.
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Reverend Khalaf Barakat, president of the General Evangelical Baptist Assembly in Egypt, expressed thankfulness that such measures are being taken to protect churches.
“Baptist churches, like many others, have benefited from these measures, while some churches are still awaiting the completion of the legalization process according to the schedules and mechanisms approved by the state,” Barakat said in an interview with Christian Daily International. “We appreciate the spirit of cooperation shown by the relevant authorities in dealing with this matter over the past years.”
A government committee was established in 2016 to address the pushback against Christian churches’ legal statuses. Since 2016, 3,804 churches and church-affiliated buildings have been legally recognized.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Hannah Davis and originally published by Decision Magazine. Used with permission. Used with permission.
