History is being made these days on the banks of the Nile. For the first time ever, the Egyptian public is being asked to decide whether they want to accept a Bill of Rights concocted for it by its rulers. The draft Constitution submitted to the people is certainly not a document worth dying for, no matter how you read it. Yet still, it had a difficult birth. At least ten young Egyptians sacrificed their lives in bloody, nationwide riots over the Constitution and the political maneuvering that accompanied it from its inception.  For the first time in the post-Mubarak era, the Muslim Brotherhood has been subjected to the wrath of the streets.

It would be fair to assume that deep in their hearts, the extremist Salafis are ridiculing the Muslim Brotherhood for this dubious achievement. According to Salafi beliefs, “al-Hakm le-Illah” (“The Law is reserved for God alone”). Anything that is not the Word of God is considered null and void. To them, that detestable Western innovation known as a constitution is not a legitimate source of authority, nor is a legislature elected by the public. But along comes President Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and commits two venal sins. Not only does he adopt a collection of laws created by mere mortals. He even attempts to derive his legitimacy from the public.

The proposed draft has much that the Egyptians have been yearning for over decades. In the Age of the Three Presidents—Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, and Hosni Mubarak—any demand to enshrine even some of its articles in law would have resulted in the person making that demand facing interrogation in the dungeons of the Mukhabarat (Egypt’s General Intelligence Service). Article 226, for instance, limits the President’s term to four years, and determines that he can only be elected twice. Article 151 allows for the President to face criminal proceedings. While a parliamentary two-thirds majority is needed to initiate such an indictment, it is now crystal clear that even the Rais (President) is not above the law. Article 48 prohibits censorship of the media except in times of war. Several of the articles ensure freedom of thought, of opinion, and of creativity. Article 3 guarantees freedom of worship for Christians and Jews. A collection of social articles prohibits the state from nationalizing private property arbitrarily, from exploiting the citizenry, or from engaging in the trade of people. Article 33 determines that citizens are equal before the Law and that no discriminatory preferences can be imposed upon them.

In several of the articles, the authors of the new Constitution laid the basis for a welfare state. They determine that those of limited means, the weak, and the elderly will be eligible for financial support from the state. Article 14 calls for legislating a minimum wage, “which will ensure that every citizen can live a life of dignity.” The employment of children in labor deemed inappropriate to their age is henceforth forbidden (Article 70).