Preamble
We, the people of Egypt,
In the name and with the assistance of God, the most merciful and gracious,
This is our Constitution, the document of the January 25 Revolution, the Revolution which was initiated by our youth, which our people rallied around, and which the Armed Forces sided with.
After we rejected, in Tahrir Square and across the country, all forms of injustice, oppression, tyranny, despotism, exclusion, plunder, corruption and monopoly.
We publicly demanded our full rights to “a decent life, freedom, social justice and human dignity”, with the blood of our martyrs, the pain of our injured, the dreams of our children and the struggle of our men and women.
We reclaimed the place of our great civilization and of our thriving history; we established the oldest state on the banks of the immortal Nile, which witnessed the meaning of citizenship, equality and non-discrimination. It presented to the world the first written alphabets, launched the belief in monotheism and cognizance of the Creator, embraced the God’s prophets and His divine Messages, and decorated the pages of human history with creativity.
In continuation of our immaculate revolution which united the Egyptian people over one demand, to build a modern democratic state, we announce our determination towards the following principles:
- The people are the source of all authorities; they establish them, they derive their legitimacy from them and are subject to their will. The responsibilities and competencies of the authorities are endowed to them in trusteeship, and are not privileges that serve to immunize authorities.
- A democratic system of government which entrenches the peaceful transfer of power, deepens political and partisan pluralism, and guarantees fair elections and the people’s contribution to the decision-making process.
- The dignity of the individual is part and parcel of the dignity of the homeland. And a country in which women are not respected has no dignity; for women are the sisters of men and partners in national gains and responsibilities.
- Freedom is a right, in thought, creativity, opinion, housing, ownership, residence and travel, the origins of which the Creator designed in the universe’s motion and human nature.
- Equality and equal opportunities are for all: male and female citizens; for there is no discrimination, nepotism, or favoritism in rights and duties.
- The rule of law is the basis of the individual’s freedom, the legitimacy of the authorities, and the State’s compliance with the law; for no voice tops that of the force of justice; and the judiciary is independent and proud and holds the supreme mission of protecting the Constitution, establishing the balance of justice, and preserving rights and freedoms.
- National unity is an obligation, and the cornerstone for building the Egyptian modern State and its soaring progress and development. It is entrenched in the values of tolerance, moderation and centrism, and the guarantee of rights and freedoms to all citizens without discrimination between the people.
- Defending the homeland is a duty and an honor; and our armed forces are a patriotic, professional and neutral institution that do not interfere in political affairs and is the protective shield of the country.
- Security is a great blessing watched over by the police that work to serve and protect the people and enforce justice; for there can be no justice without protection, and no protection without security institutions which respect human dignity and the rule of law.
- Unity is the hope of the Arab nation, a call from history, an invitation to the future, and a necessity for destiny. It is reinforced by complementarity and brotherhood with the countries of the Nile Basin and of the Muslim world, a natural extension to the genius of Egypt’s position and place on the universe’s map.
- Egypt’s pioneering intellectual and cultural role is an embodiment of its soft power and an example of the freedom of its innovators, intellectuals, universities, scholarly and linguistic academies, research centers, press, art, literature, media, its patriotic Church and its honorable Al-Azhar, which throughout its history has been the backbone of the homeland’s identity, a guardian of the immortal Arabic language and the revered Islamic Sharia, and a beacon for moderate enlightened thought.
We, the masses of the people of Egypt,
out of faith in God and His heavenly messages,
in recognition of the rights of the country and the nation due upon us,
in awareness of our national and human responsibilities,
pledge to commit to the principles laid out in this Constitution, which we accept and grant to ourselves, affirming our determination to uphold and defend it, protect and respect it by all state authorities.
