Although it does not receive much international media coverage, what is often referred to as “personal status law” (Ar. al-aḥwāl al-shakhsiyya) or “family law” remains perhaps the most important way that religion and law intersect in many Middle Eastern countries. These laws touch on intimate matters of family life related to marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance, among other issues. In Egypt, they are governed by complex mixtures of Christian and Islamic tradition combined with the rulings of the public court system. Today marked the first meeting of a new working group focused on clarifying important questions in this field with special attention being devoted to a new unified personal status law for the Christian communities of Egypt which is now under consideration by the government.

(The new DAB working group on Christian Personal Status Law.)

The group was generously hosted by the Mission and Mandate Law Offices owned by Mina and Marianne Mounir in downtown Cairo. The core working group represents the major Christian denominations in Egypt and includes Professor Samia Qadri of Ain Shams University, Professor Eid Salah of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, and Dr. Marianne Mounir, a lawyer and legal scholar who works closely with the Catholic Church in Egypt. 

The first meeting included a number of highlights. One of our members was able to confirm that they had viewed a draft of the new unified legal code for Christians, which was the first time I had personally met someone who has seen this document. Of course, a central topic in Christian family law is divorce and the different ways that Egyptian Christians attempt to navigate a system that generally seeks to discourage it. When a Christian seeks a fully valid divorce, they have to convince the public court system as well as a Christian council from their denomination. In some cases, they might decide to live in permanent separation rather than proceed through an arduous process. One approach Christians sometimes utilize is to change denominational affiliations which can ease the process in various ways. Certificates of church membership change are sometimes obtained abroad or in Egypt and we were able to examine an example of this kind of document.

Far from being merely academic, family or personal status law involves powerful questions of theological and legal interpretation and touches on some of the most important ways that we attempt to organize and understand our lives and primary relationships. I am grateful to the members of the group for sharing their time and expertise and look forward to meeting again next month as the project expands.

Matthew Anderson

Director - Center for Arab-West Understanding

Executive Editor - Dialogue Across Borders (Brill)

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May 7, 2025