The House of Representatives unanimously passed the Construction of Churches Act on Tuesday, Al Shorouk reports. The act passed despite vocal objections from a number of Coptic MPs including Nadia Henry and Emad Gad, who were opposed to articles that would make the size of a church in any one district a function of the size of the area’s Christian population, Al Mal reports. The newspaper alleged that Coptic MPs were effectively silenced by their coalition leaders, who reportedly told them that any objection to the law would cast suspicions on their “patriotism.” Both the Evangelical and Coptic Orthodox Church had approved the legislation. The House appears to be anxious for recess as it passed the law after deliberating on it for one morning. The VAT legislation passed on Monday after just two hours of discussion.

The House also apparently passed amendments to the Diplomatic Corp Act which would make diplomats not subject to the Civil Service Act. The House is expected to discuss the law combating illegal immigration, a draft of which is provided by Al Shorouk.