Ryan Rowberry

A Brief History of Coptic Personal Status Law

Coptic Christians comprise the largest non-Muslim population in Egypt (12-17% of Egypt’s total population). For over a millennium, the Coptic Church has administered and adjudicated personal status matters (i.e., family law) for its members using Biblically-based principles that are vastly different from those of Shari’a Law. The Egyptian government, however, has advocated for a universal right of divorce for all Egyptians modeled on Shari’a Law, a development that would significantly impact Coptic Personal Status Law. Using interviews conducted with Coptic bishops, priests, and parishioners in Egypt, along with primary and secondary sources, this article traces the development of Coptic Personal Status Law from its origins to the present day. Particularly noteworthy is the examination of the Bill of Personal Affairs for Copts, the current code governing Coptic Personal Status Law. The authors conclude that the establishment of a universal right of divorce in Egypt is incompatible with Coptic laws designed to protect the inviolability of divine, sacramental marriage and will significantly undermine the Coptic Church’s jurisdiction and authority.

Core Capabilities and Capacities of Developer Nonprofits in Postdisaster Community Rebuilding

AbstractCurrent disaster scholarship examines critical roles that nonprofits play in both immediate postdisaster emergency response and long-term recovery. These studies focus on narrative accounts of nonprofits’ accomplishments and in some cases the strategies they employ to complete recovery-related work. Far less attention has been paid, however, to the specific capacities critical for developer nonprofit and philanthropic organizations to carry out their strategies and projects. This article is a case study focused on critical capacities. Using interviews and primary sources documenting New Orleans’ advanced stage long-term recovery from Hurricane Katrina, this article isolates key organizational, legal, and operational capacities that enabled developer nonprofit and philanthropic organizations’ successful involvement in the city’s long-term housing and community redevelopment projects.