Monday, April 14, 2008

Baha'is of Egypt Still Waiting for ID Cards

Since the 29 January 2008 court ruling and its subsequent acceptance by the Ministry of Interior, no Baha'i in Egypt has been able to receive an ID card or a birth certificate.

The Ministry, through the media, has declared its decision not to appeal the ruling and its intention of allowing dashes "--" in place of "Baha'i" in the religion field of these official documents.

Baha'is in Egypt continue to face a variety of hardships on a regular basis because of being deprived of holding these important official documents that are required for their daily living.

It is expected and hoped that the Ministry of Interior will want to avoid all current distractions and proceed with the implementation of its decision expeditiously. After all, it is entirely up to the Ministry to proceed without delay in applying this--mutually acceptable--solution to all Baha'is in Egypt, and not only to those three individuals who were involved in the lawsuit. Clearly, the Ministry has the power and authority to do so. Delays can only add to frustrations and would not reflect well on the image Egypt is trying to portray to the rest of the world.

2 comments:

  1. It has been almost three months now since the court ruling. How much longer is the Ministry of Interior going to take to implement the simple decision that the court ruled and the Ministry accepted (by default, at least)? I hope this is an innocuous delay that reflects bureaucratic red tape rather than an intentional delay to cause the Baha'is more harm and suffering than they have suffered to date!

    The Ministry can put this speculation to rest by expediting the process of issuing IDs and birth certificates to all Baha'is so that they can go ahead with normal life after so many years of humiliation and suffering at the hands of their own government!

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  2. It is hoped that someone will listen to this!

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