Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi has signed a declaration that makes effective the country’s recently drafted constitution, which was approved some days ago in a two-stage national referendum.
The new Egyptian constitution replaces a 1971 charter that was shelved the previous year after a powerful uprising toppled the country’s long time president Hosni Mubarak.
During the two-stage referendum, 63.8 percent voters in favor of the constitution and 36.2 percent voted against it. In the first stage of the vote, which took place on Dec. 15, the constitution passed with 56.6 percent votes. The second stage of referendum took place in several conservative provinces of Egypt on Dec. 22 and a majority voted in favor of the constitution.
Egypt’s new constitution maintains several articles of the 1971 charter. It retains Islam as the state’s official religion and Sharia as the major source of lawmaking. Moreover, the constitution makes it obligatory for the state to protect family values grounded in Islamic teachings.
The new constitution elaborated the principles of Sharia or Islamic law for the first time, saying the principles of Sharia include evidence, rules, jurisprudence and sources acknowledged by Sunni sect of Islam, which is Egypt's majority sect within Islam.
The new document also grants extraordinary powers to Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highly esteemed religious school. Under the constitution, all matters relating to Sharia need consultation of the religious school’s scholars.
Under the new constitution, the authority to decide the armed forces’ budget is given to the National Defense Council, 50 percent of whose members come from Egypt’s military.
Seculars, non-Muslims and liberals say the constitution was passed hastily and they were not included in the Constituent Assembly that drafted the document.
The constitution’s supporters say it protects personal rights, chiefly its provisions about handling prisoners.
The US also voiced its concerns about the new constitution.
"Many Egyptians have voiced deep concerns about the substance of the constitution and the constitutional process," said Patrick Ventrell, acting deputy spokesman of the US State Department, according to CNN. "President Morsy, as the democratically elected leader of Egypt, has a special responsibility to move forward in a way that recognizes the urgent need to bridge divisions, build trust and broaden support for the political process."
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