More churches being closed in Egypt

More churches being closed in Egypt

ESNA, Egypt — Authorities in Al-Zeneeqa village closed a church Sept. 5 that had been holding worship services at the site for 18 years.

The church was the third one in Luxor Governorate, 435 miles south of Cairo, closed in four months after Muslim extremists protested their existence, giving police the pretext of “security” threats for shuttering them. Hundreds of churches have submitted applications for legalization under a law passed on Sept. 28, 2016, regulating church construction, with little hope of obtaining licenses soon.

In the past 11 months, authorities approved only 220 of the 3,730 church and other ministry buildings that have applied, the country’s Watani newspaper reported on Aug. 26. Many churches have already waited 15 years for decisions on their applications for permits, and at the current rate, it will take 17 years to obtain decisions on applications from “unofficial” churches, according to Watani. (MS)