Abstract
In Modern Egypt, after the 1923 Constitution was enacted, there was the problem of power division over “religion” between the Parliament and the King because Article 153 of the 1923 Constitution stipulated the King’s supreme authority over religious matters. In 1927, Law No. 15 of 1927 was passed to limit such power of the King. This paper traces the debates in the Parliament leading up to the passage of the 1927 Law, and attempts to clarify the thoughts of constitutionalists 23 within the Parliament who sought to realize its passage.
They recognized that Islam did not distinguish between secular and religious matters, and was connected to the people entirely. The sovereignty of the people, which was closely linked to Islam, was the basis of Parliamentary power, which therefore must supervise religious matters for the benefit of the people. This was the background to the enactment of the 1927 law. In other words, they successfully modified the monopoly of power over religious matters held by the King by refusing to be reduced to a purely secular power.
