Manāl ‘Abd ‘Azīz critically discusses Coptic calls for a civil state and the abolishment of Islamic sharī‘ah as the main source of Egypt’s legislation, as stated in the second article of the Egyptian Constitution. While she argues that such Coptic reform propositions are understandable when viewed in the context of the Alexandria attacks, she is convinced that they will eventually fail to solve Coptic-Muslim tensions in Egypt.

Instead of erasing or denying religious differences and ascribing an exclusively secular Egyptian identity to citizens, al-‘Azīz supports the existence of diverse Muslim and Coptic identities among Egyptians.

In her view, suggestions such as the one put forward by the Grand Shaykh of the Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayyib, are worthy of consideration, and promote mutual tolerance and respect between Muslims and Copts.

Al-Tayyib recently suggested creating a general council, comprised of senior Muslim and Coptic representatives to debate and attempt to solve societal and political problems, forwarding their recommendations to the government for enactment.