New laws that allow same-sex civil unions to be performed on religious premises took effect in England and Wales on Monday (Dec. 5), but the Church of England says it won’t permit them without approval from its top body.

Civil partnerships have been legal since 2005, but until Monday the ceremonies had to be held in secular venues. Civil partnerships, which cannot be called marriages, give same-sex couples the same legal rights as heterosexual couples who are married in a church.

The church said in a letter to its governing body that “the position under the new arrangements is that no Church of England religious premises may become ‘approved premises’ for the registration of civil partnerships” unless its General Synod approves.

The Synod is the Church’s general assembly, and it is considered highly unlikely to permit same-sex marriage ceremonies on church property.

The British government itself has said it has no intention of forcing religious institutions to conduct gay union rites, regardless of the new laws.

The Church of England’s legal office said in a statement that it is not guilty of unlawful discrimination because standard marriages and civil partnerships are legally distinct.

“A gentlemen’s outfitter is not required to supply women’s clothes. A children’s bookshop is not required to stock books that are intended for adults,” the statement said. “And a church that provides a facility to marry is not required to provide a facility to same-sex couples for registering civil partnerships.”

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Egypt’s parliament is mulling legislation that would give equal rights to all faiths in building houses of worship, but rights activists are not impressed.

Moufid Shihab, state minister for legal and parliamentary affairs said recently that Egypt’s government has been meeting with Coptic Church leaders to discuss how laws can equalize building houses of worship of all faiths, including mosques.

Nagib Gibra’il, a Coptic attorney and human rights activist, told The Media Line it is all a hoax, and parliament has made the same promise for the last 15 years. Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said an extra-legal presidential decree and non interference by Egypt’s security would be more effective.

Nearly impossible

As of now, it is nearly impossible to build or repair a Christian church in Egypt due to regulations such as getting a presidential permit, and clearance from Egypt’s State Security Intelligence department, The Media Line said.

That alone may take years, further impeded by government bureaucracy. Even if the permits are secured, local governments may not honor them citing security reasons, or say local restrictions are not met, The Media Line reported.

For example a church can be built provided no Muslim neighbor complains, and if there is a specified minimum number of Christians in the area. Furthermore, it must be 340 feet away from the nearest mosque, The Media Line said.

Gibra’il, told The Media Line that even minute repairs such as fixing a pipeline in a church requires a local government permit. The Christian Post noted that in 2008 police hit three Christian women for fixing cracks on a church floor.

Muslims on the other hand, have no restrictions in building mosques. To date, there are only some 2,000 Christian churches in Egypt, and 93,000 mosques. The Media Line said up to nine percent of Egypt’s 80 million population is Christian.

Meeting with Coptic leaders

However Gibra’il, a human rights activist, believes it is a hoax. He told The Christian Post, “For the past 15 years the parliament has been promising a new law, but nothing has happened. It’s still unclear whether any law will emerge. It’s all one big hoax.”

Shihab’s comments follow the heels of last month’s parliamentary elections which raised cries of election rigging from the international and local communities. Presidential elections will be in September, The Media Line reported.

Recent moves may be a way for President Husni Mubarak, whose regime has merited harsh criticism for civil rights violations, to try to win over the Copts, The Media Line reported.

Late last month, some 2,000 police arrested 200 Christians over the building of a church in Giza district, Cairo, without a permit. A melee ensued where two were killed and dozens injured. Some 20 Christians were blinded in one eye as security clashed with Christians, and more than 25 Christian homes in the area were burned, The Christian Post reported.

Symbolic

Hossam Bahgat, executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights told The Media Line, “A unified law, equating churches and mosques, would be a positive step but largely a symbolic one. There are many other possible ways of solving the issue without a unified law.”

Bahgat told The Media Line an extra-legal presidential decree would be effective, but only if Egypt’s security does not intervene when churches are built. “The real problem is Egypt’s security apparatus. Many churches receive building permits after years of bureaucracy, only to find that local security officials refuse to implement the permit, citing security concerns.”

A 2010 U.S. State Department Report on International Religious Freedom stated that while Egypt’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, in practice, the government itself restricts these freedoms.

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Nearly 156 Christians in Egypt were arrested recently for their alleged involvement in a protest that left one dead, over the construction of a Christian church in Giza, near the Great Pyramids, which the government halted.

The CNN said those arrested will be held for 15 days while the investigation is ongoing. Last Wednesday, police battled demonstrators who gathered outside a government building. In the melee, one Christian was killed when a bullet hit his thigh. He died shortly after he arrived at a nearby hospital, msnbc said.

Truncheon-wielding police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the demonstrators, who threw stones as they tried to storm the local governor’s office. There are conflicting reports on the number injured, ranging from 33 to 45 people, msnbc reported.

Earlier that morning Christians and Egyptian security officials fought outside the construction site of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Michael Archangel, because officials blocked trucks loaded with construction materials, msnbc said.

Giza Governor Gen. Sayyed Abdel Aziz said the Christians used the wrong permit. “When we noticed indications that it was turning into a church, we told the church authorities to halt construction because a church would require a different license,” msnbc reported.

Medhat Kalada, who heads the United Copts organization based in Geneva, said the Egyptian government enforces complicated procedures to build churches, while mosques are built with great ease, msnbc said.

According to BIKYAMASR, Egypt’s Christian population, which comprise some 10 percent of the nation’s 80 million population, often complain of government attempts to obstruct the building of churches.

The protesting Christians said their permit was appropriate, and they will build even without machinery. Meanwhile, heavy security prevails around the church construction site which is surrounded by 15 security vehicles, msnbc said.

Increased religious radicalism

According to msnbc, Christians and Muslims generally live in peace in Egypt. However, religious radicalism is gaining ground and attacks on Copts have increased of late, with the government doing little to address the issue.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said last April that violent incidents against Christians have risen to 53 in 2009 compared to 24 the year before. Most cases are ignored or insufficiently addressed, msnbc said.

According to BIKYAMASR, in Minya, upper Egypt, Christians and Muslims clashed over the construction of a large monastery. Earlier this month, an alleged romance between a Christian man and a Muslim woman also led to violence and the torching of homes and one shop wreaking $43,000 worth of damage. (See http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2010/11/muslims-in-egypt-torch-10-christian-homes-because-of-interfaith-dating-14524).

CNN reported that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed disquiet over the fact that the Egyptian government seems to collaborate with local media to deliberately promote friction.

According to CNN, this could be motivated by parliamentary elections that are slated next month. Leonardo Leo, chairman of the USCIRF said, “We’ve seen a clear uptick in recent weeks of incitement coming from media outlets and clerics espousing sectarian hatred and violence.”

Leo told CNN, “This kind of rhetoric goes too far and stokes the fire of extremists looking for ammunition to justify violent acts against religious minorities.”

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Local police in an Indonesian village tore down recently a house church that had been in use regularly since 2006.

Amid clashes with church members, police demolished the Narogong Pentecostal Church house in Limusnunggal village, south of Jakarta. Ten people were arrested, Compass Direct News said.

The destruction was spurred by the Forum of the Muslim Brotherhood of Limusnanggal, a group which emerged in 2008. From the start they fought to drive out the church and three months before, expressed their objection to the Cileungsi offices, CDN said.

However other residents in the area posed no objection to the church. Local Block Captain Junaedi Syamsudin said, “It was named a house of worship, and there was no problem,” CDN said.

Word had leaked out on the day that the church was to be destroyed, causing dozens of people to surround the building early in the morning to guard the church. The 10 people who were arrested in the melee were questioned and then released, Police Commissioner Zulkarnain Harahap told CDN.

A police official alleged many demonstrators were from outside the area, and claimed some policemen and one civilian were injured. Deputy commissioner Tomex Kurniawan said,  “Hundreds of people were blocking the way and prepared to fight when the house of worship was demolished,” CDN said.

Kurniawan said the police were positive, calmed emotions and contained the violence, but alleged two of his men were injured. Eddy Hidayat, head of Bogor police, said they were compelled to destroy the church because the permit was only for a home, not a church, CDN said.

However Hotlan P. Silaen, church building coordinator, decried the absence of neutrality among the police saying they succumbed to the demands of the Muslim group, CDN said.

Rev. Rekson Sitorus said the church was applying for a permit for a church building. However, because the church was destroyed, some 200 worshippers, many of whom work for the Bantar Gebang garbage dump, will now have to go to the nearest worship venue which is very far away, CDN said.

Sitorus said legal action will be sought by the church against those who are behind the demolishment of the church, CDN said.

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