It is Time to Issue ID Cards to the Baha'is of Egypt

International Herald Tribune (IHT)'s Daily News Egypt has just published another article regarding the status of ID cards in Egypt. The Baha'is of Egypt remain without ID cards and birth certificates, even though the administrative court had allowed them the issue of these official documents and the Ministry of Interior had decided not to appeal the ruling.

Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), who has been acting on behalf of the Baha'is in their quest for their civil rights, is asking for the immediate implementation of the court's ruling.

A couple of frivolous legal challenges, filed by extremist Islamist lawyers who are not party to the case, should not interfere with the swift implementation of the ruling, particularly when the Ministry of Interior showed no interest in objecting to this solution and had already announced its intention to use dashes "--" in place of "Baha'i" in the religion field on ID cards and birth certificates.

Considering the extreme hardship experienced by the Baha'is of Egypt, the Ministry of Interior would serve these Egyptian citizens best by removing all obstacles and instructing its employees and agents to issue these essential documents promptly.

Egypt needs to show its citizens and the rest of the civilized world that it can indeed protect its minorities. After all, isn't this how a modern society judged?