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Constitutionally, the freedom of belief is "absolute" and the practice of religious rites is provided in Egypt, although the Government places restrictions on these rights in practice.〔article 64 of the 2014 Constitution〕 Islam is the official state religion, and Shari'a (Islamic law) is the primary source of legislation.〔article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution (starting from Constitution of 1971, and all following ones (2007, 2012 and 2014))〕 Although there were some positive steps in support of religious freedom, the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government declined overall during the period covered by this report. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the Government generally worship without harassment and maintain links with coreligionists in other countries. However, members of religious groups that are not recognized by the Government, particularly the Baha'i Faith, experience personal and collective hardship. See Egyptian identification card controversy. A lower court ruling interpreted the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom as inapplicable to Muslim citizens who wish to convert to another religion. This ruling is under appeal. Separate court rulings provided for 13 Christian born converts to Islam to obtain identity documents indicating their conversion back to Christianity and allowed some Baha'is to obtain civil documents. However, the courts included requirements effectively identifying the Christian converts and Baha'is as apostates, potentially exposing them, if implemented, to risk of significant discrimination by both governmental and societal agents. In addition, a lower court held that the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion does not apply to Baha'is. Furthermore, governmental authorities detained some converts from Islam to Christianity, some religious freedom advocates, and some Christian children of parents who converted to Islam. The Government again failed to redress laws and governmental practices that discriminate against Christians, effectively allowing their discriminatory effects and their modeling effect on society to become further entrenched. According to some observers, police responses to some incidents of sectarian violence were slow. There continued to be religious discrimination and sectarian tension in society during the period covered by this report. There were several violent incidents in Upper Egypt, including an attack by Bedouins on the Abu Fana monastery, arson attacks on Christian-owned shops in Armant, and an attack on a Coptic Church and Coptic-owned shops in Esna. Muhammad Higazy, who converted from Islam to Christianity, received death threats and went into hiding with his wife after his case received wide attention in the Arabic language media. ==Religious demography== (詳細はSunni Muslims. Shi'a Muslims constitute less than 1 percent of the population. Estimates of the percentage of Christians range from 10 to 20 percent,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Egypt from "The World Factbook" )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt )〕〔(IPS News ) (retrieved 09-27-2008)〕〔(). ''The Washington Post''. "Estimates of the size of Egypt's Christian population vary from the low government figures of 6 to 7 million to the 12 million reported by some Christian leaders. The actual numbers may be in the 9 to 9.5 million range, out of an Egyptian population of more than 60 million." Retrieved 10-10-2008〕〔(). ''The New York Times''. Retrieved 10-10-2008.〕〔() The Christian Post. Accessed 28 September 2008.〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Egypt from "U.S. Department of State/Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs" )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Egypt from "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" )〕〔(NLG Solutions ) Other Christian communities include the Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic (Armenian, Chaldean, Greek, Melkite, Roman, and Syrian Catholic), Maronite, and Orthodox (Greek and Syrian) churches. An evangelical Protestant community, established in the middle of the 19th century, included 16 Protestant denominations (Presbyterian, Episcopal/Anglican, Baptist, Brethren, Open Brethren, Revival of Holiness (Nahdat al-Qadaasa), Faith (Al-Eyman), Church of God, Christian Model Church (Al-Mithaal al-Masihi), Apostolic, Grace (An-Ni'ma), Pentecostal, Apostolic Grace, Church of Christ, Gospel Missionary (Al-Kiraaza bil Ingil), and the Message Church of Holland (Ar-Risaala)). There are also followers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was granted legal status in the 1960s. There are small numbers of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, but the Government does not recognize either group. The non-Muslim, non-Christian communities ranged in size from several thousand to hundreds of thousands. The number of Baha'is estimated at 2,000 persons. The Jewish community numbers fewer than 200 persons. Christians are dispersed throughout the country, although the percentage of Christians is higher in Upper Egypt (the southern part of the country) and some sections of Cairo and Alexandria. There are many foreign religious groups, especially Roman Catholics and Protestants who have had a presence in the country for almost a century. These groups engaged in education, social, and development work. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Freedom of religion in Egypt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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