Egyptian Parliament to Discuss Removing Religion from National IDs

The Egyptian parliament is set to discuss a proposal to remove religion from national IDs on August 6th, 2016, reports Daily News Egypt. 

The measure comes as part of a bill of “citizenship and non-discrimination” filed by MP Alaa Abdel Moneim and 60 others. The bill which will be discussed by the Parliamentary Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee comes following months of sectarian strife. 

The bill stipulates religion be dropped from national IDs, criminalises discrimination based on colour, religious beliefs or ethnicity and states that violating these civil rights shall be punishable by imprisonment. 

The sixth clause of the bill stipulates that the government grant building permits for mosques and churches once requests are made by the appropriate religious authorities, be it the Ministry of Religious Endowment or the Coptic Orthodox Church. 

(Photo credit: Reuters)