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The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State

The legal consequences of renouncing Islam or apostasy, which include depriving the apostate from some civil rights, and the non-recognition of the act itself by law in Egypt have been usually criticized as a blatant violation of the right to religious freedom. Such criticisms are based on the right...

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Main Author: Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2021
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access_status_str Open Access
author Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky
author_browse Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky
author_facet Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky
author_sort Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky
collection Thesis
description The legal consequences of renouncing Islam or apostasy, which include depriving the apostate from some civil rights, and the non-recognition of the act itself by law in Egypt have been usually criticized as a blatant violation of the right to religious freedom. Such criticisms are based on the right’s definition according to international human rights law precisely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The dominant reasoning for this violation according to the majority of the related literature is the conservative interpretation of Sharia, the principal source of law, that has been adopted by Egyptian judiciary for more than fifty years. The advocates of this point of view argue that such violation could be resolved through adopting more lenient Sharia rulings concerning apostasy. Investigating the situation of apostasy from a broader legal perspective beyond the rhetoric of human rights demonstrates that resolving the complicated legal status of apostasy starts from realizing the legal framework of apostasy in Egypt as a single indication among others of legal pluralism. It is a problem that stems from the conflict between the rulings of both Sharia and IHRL, as law sources, regarding apostasy and their interpretation by the state. In light of its approach regarding constitutional Islamization, the Egyptian state through its legislature and judiciary has maintained the ambiguity of the legal situation of apostasy to balance between its constitutional obligation to apply Sharia and its international obligation to ensure the consistency of its laws with IHRL. Egyptian courts have undertaken this mission through reconstructing the application of some apostasy juristic and legal consequences under some secular legal regulations and the concept of public policy in contrast to the juristic position of apostasy according to Sharia.
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institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
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spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2449 The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky The legal consequences of renouncing Islam or apostasy, which include depriving the apostate from some civil rights, and the non-recognition of the act itself by law in Egypt have been usually criticized as a blatant violation of the right to religious freedom. Such criticisms are based on the right’s definition according to international human rights law precisely the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The dominant reasoning for this violation according to the majority of the related literature is the conservative interpretation of Sharia, the principal source of law, that has been adopted by Egyptian judiciary for more than fifty years. The advocates of this point of view argue that such violation could be resolved through adopting more lenient Sharia rulings concerning apostasy. Investigating the situation of apostasy from a broader legal perspective beyond the rhetoric of human rights demonstrates that resolving the complicated legal status of apostasy starts from realizing the legal framework of apostasy in Egypt as a single indication among others of legal pluralism. It is a problem that stems from the conflict between the rulings of both Sharia and IHRL, as law sources, regarding apostasy and their interpretation by the state. In light of its approach regarding constitutional Islamization, the Egyptian state through its legislature and judiciary has maintained the ambiguity of the legal situation of apostasy to balance between its constitutional obligation to apply Sharia and its international obligation to ensure the consistency of its laws with IHRL. Egyptian courts have undertaken this mission through reconstructing the application of some apostasy juristic and legal consequences under some secular legal regulations and the concept of public policy in contrast to the juristic position of apostasy according to Sharia. 2021-01-31T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1445 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2449/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Religious Freedom Apostasy Egypt Human Rights Renouncing Islam in Egypt Constitutional Law Human Rights Law Religion Law
spellingShingle Religious Freedom Apostasy Egypt Human Rights Renouncing Islam in Egypt
Constitutional Law
Human Rights Law
Religion Law
Mohammed, Ahmed Sedky
The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State
title The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State
title_full The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State
title_fullStr The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State
title_full_unstemmed The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State
title_short The Legal Framework Of Apostasy in Egypt: A Manifestation Of Secular Reconstruction Of Sharia By A Modern State
title_sort legal framework of apostasy in egypt a manifestation of secular reconstruction of sharia by a modern state
topic Religious Freedom Apostasy Egypt Human Rights Renouncing Islam in Egypt
Constitutional Law
Human Rights Law
Religion Law
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1445
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2449/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf
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