Yesterday, the Public Prosecution Office in North Cairo issued a directive authorising the temporary custody over the child “Shenouda” to Mrs. Amal Ibrahim, who had previously found and raised him. Shenouda’s tale has sparked a wide controversy recently due to its sensitivity. The Public Prosecution decision was made after Dar Al-Ifta stipulated that the boy belongs with the family who found him as an abandoned infant.
The story of the Egyptian Christian family who found a young child at the door of a church and adopted him has captivated the attention of the public. Few months ago, the Egyptian Public Prosecution decided to place “Shenouda” in an orphanage as “incompetent” and change his name to “Youssef”, after a DNA analysis, that was proven that he was not attributed to the family who found him, and did not take any action against the family, as it was proven to have good faith. However, due to the sensitive nature of the case, and the fact that the child is still young, The prosecution has directed the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood to follow appropriate legal procedures to give the child the name of his Christian foster parents.
The couple filed a lawsuit to regain custody of their five-year-old child, but an administrative court refused to make a decision on the matter, citing a lack of jurisdiction. The court clarified that it is not authorized to rule on either returning the child to the couple who raised him or overturning the decision by the authorities to assign him to the Islamic faith.
But today, the Prosecution decided to hand over the child temporarily to Mrs. Amal Ibrahim, after a fatwa issued by the country’s Mufti and in line with established precedents in Islamic law. The prosecution also directed the mother to fulfill all necessary legal requirements for fostering to complete the process of obtaining custody of the child.
