China Central Television Interview with Jadaliyya Co-Editor Hesham Sallam on Egyptian Constitutional Referendum

In this interview with CCTV America  that aired on 16 December 2012, Jadaliyya Co-Editor Hesham Sallam argues that there is more to the conflict over Egypt's constitution than a spat between Islamists and secularists over the religious nature of the state and role of religion in public life. This is a battle over whether the new Egypt will fullfil the promise of the January 25 Revolution for greater freedom and social justice. The draft constitution under consideration, Sallam says, contains loopholes that could give the state undue power in regulating people's private lives and curtail civil liberties and freedom of speech. The document also contains articles that will render the military's non-democratic economic and political privileges above the reach of public and parliamentary accountability and oversight.