Rose El-Yousef Article On Baha'i History In Egypt

Today, 18 September 2006, Egypt's Rose el-Yousef daily newspaper published a six-page article on the history of the Baha'i Faith in Egypt. Rose el-Yousef is one of the most prominent publications in the country known for its weekly magazine, established in 1925, somewhat similar in "style" to The New Yorker magazine. The daily newspaper was established more recently as an extension of the weekly magazine.










Because of the extent of the article, its pages will be displayed here for the time being while a digest of its content is being worked on. Also, until a better scan is available, unfortunately one might find it a bit difficult to read the current pages....

Digest:

The article is entitled: "Baha'is...Stories and Exposure of Cases."

In addition to the several old photographs shown, the article displays what it calls "a rare picture of Abdu'l-Baha," and describes his visits and interactions with the Egyptian Baha'is. The article contains historical correspondence & documents (calling them secrets), annual reports, several names of early Baha'is, court decisions, old news media publications, some historical accounts including partial history of the Baha'i Faith, and an old marriage certificate of a Baha'i couple [which was known to be connected to a court decision leading to the official recognition and emancipation of the Baha'i Faith as described in this previous post].

Even though the article shows some real photographs and documents, it unfortunately falls into the usual whirlwind of inaccuracies and use of clearly fabricated insinuations intended to play a certain tune suited for the uninformed readers, which in turn could trigger further hostilities towards the innocent Baha'i population. The article also uses catching headlines and phrases that misrepresent and attempt to defame the Baha'is.

It is surprising--to a certain degree--that such reputable national media publication engages in this kind of questionable journalism that borders on violating the ethics of the profession. The whole article is presented in the spirit of "scandalous sensationalism," that would be normally expected of tabloid publications. It is a clear sign of decay....

After describing some early court battles dating back to 1925, that involved the rights of the Baha'is, the article concludes by stating: "was this lawsuit the end of their dreams and lawsuits? The answer is 'no' as will be exposed in the next several episodes in the series of Rose el-Yousef reports exposing the covenants of Baha'ism and Baha'is."

One can only wonder, what are the motives behind this series of publications, at this time, and by this particular newspaper? It is quite evident that this well-known press organization is no longer a free and independent agent!