Egypt's Grand Muftī Sheikh 'Alī Jum'ah yesterday rejected revoking the second article of the Constitution pertaining to the official religion of the country, saying he would resign if the article were scrapped.

The article states that Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic is its official language, and Islamic jurisprudence sharī'ah is the principal source of legislation. Coptic protesters have recently called for the cancellation of the second article, which they regard as discriminatory and depriving them of full citizenship rights. On the other hand, Muslims staunchly balk at any suggestion to revise the article.