Amongst other things, it gave Christians the right to construct places of worship by requiring them to submit a request to the Sultan.
The Al-Ezabi "amplification" has, in reality, served to hinder Christians and other religious minorities from maintaining and building places of worship.
Regarding repairs to church property, progress has been made over the past few years following considerable national and international criticism of the decree.
In January 1998, an amendment was made which delegated presidential authority to issue permits for church renovation to the country's 26 provincial governors.
On December 28, 1999, President Mubarak decreed that church repairs no longer required a presidential, governor's or federal ministry permit.