tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29145551.post8354266016824535503..comments2024-02-10T07:26:14.917-05:00Comments on Baha'i Faith in Egypt: Bahá’ís in Egypt Pay Taxes—But Are Deprived of Civil RightsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29145551.post-16573101921304689312007-05-15T11:20:00.000-04:002007-05-15T11:20:00.000-04:00Here in the United States the American Citizens ov...Here in the United States the American Citizens over threw a government back in 1776 over Taxation without representation now fast foward 231 years later there are still governments who are so repressive that they force citizens their Bahai citizens AT GUNPOINT to pay their taxes with out the rights of citizenship...<BR/><BR/>I see the Egyptian government actions as defacto terrorists against the Bahai citizens...<BR/><BR/>this is alarming at the very least<BR/><BR/>I call on the UN to aleviate this problem ASAP and the Egyptian government cease and desist at once!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29145551.post-64888530515850900162007-05-11T16:55:00.000-04:002007-05-11T16:55:00.000-04:00Interesting! The second article in the post relati...Interesting! The second article in the post relating to the Human Rights Committee of the Egyptian Parliament mentions that the chair of the committee being quoted in the article is Edward Ghali. I do not know whether or not he is related to Boutros-Boutros Ghali who is currently the president of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights and former Secretary General of the United Nations. Boutros Ghali has been supportive of either recognizing ALL religions or eliminating religion from ID cards and official documents altogether. His position has been VERY clear, as shown in several past posts on this blog like <A HREF="http://bahai-egypt.blogspot.com/2006/08/egypt-nchr-symposium-supports-civil.html" REL="nofollow"><STRONG>this one....</STRONG></A>Bilohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08060802520953738221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29145551.post-56198010199041016882007-05-11T02:38:00.000-04:002007-05-11T02:38:00.000-04:00It is amazing in the Twenty First Century that a h...It is amazing in the Twenty First Century that a human rights committee of the Egyptian People's Assembly could deny the civil rights of law abiding citizens based on their religious beliefs. <BR/><BR/>Let us suppose that all Baha'is register themselves as Jews. Since there are only very few Jews in Egypt then a Jew in Egypt would most likely be a Baha'i. This will increase the number of registered Jews in Egypt, would be consistent with current interpretations of Egyptian law, and Egyptian authorities would not have to deal with the ID crisis anymore.<BR/><BR/>What would be required then are assurances that:<BR/><BR/>a. Citizens cannot be prosecuted for lying in official documents.<BR/><BR/>b. Baha'is, whose great grandparents of six or so generations ago embraced the Baha'i Faith, cannot be assigned another religion arbitrarily according to their family name as has been the recent practice in Egypt.<BR/><BR/>c. As "official Jews" but "unofficial Baha'is" they will not be harassed for not being Muslim or Christian.<BR/><BR/>Of course the Baha'is will not accept this proposal as it requires them to be dishonest with their own government and with themselves.<BR/><BR/>Here are the implicit assumptions of the governments stance:<BR/><BR/>a. Put pressure on the Baha'is and they will become Muslim or Christian and the problem will disappear. WRONG!<BR/><BR/>b. What people believe is either simple to change (not engraved in one's heart but only engraved on official documents). WRONG!<BR/><BR/>c. Baha'is under pressure will falsify and misrepresent themselves in order to get their official documents. WRONG here again!<BR/><BR/>And the plot goes as follows: if they remain truthful, no IDs! If they falsify official documents then they can be charged with falsifying official documents.<BR/><BR/>I am surprised that Mr. Gali (Junior) endorsed such an outcome of the Human Rights Committee of the legislator.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17133352683952286919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29145551.post-78097115393083083772007-05-10T13:11:00.000-04:002007-05-10T13:11:00.000-04:00Bilo, you wrote: "There must be separation between...Bilo, you wrote: <BR/><BR/>"There must be separation between citizenship and belief—they cannot be interconnected." and "religion is only in one’s heart and is the individual’s private and personal affair." <BR/><BR/>I agree entirely. So does Baha'u'llah. In his Kitab al-Aqdas he told the worldly rulers:<BR/><BR/>"Arise, and serve Him Who is the Desire of all nations, Who hath created you through a word from Him, and ordained you to be, for all time, the emblems of His sovereignty. By the righteousness of God! It is not Our wish to lay hands on your kingdoms. Our mission is to seize and possess the hearts of men. Upon them the eyes of Baha are fastened."<BR/><BR/>the Arabic text is at:<BR/><BR/>http://reference.bahai.org/ar/t/b/<BR/><BR/>The book is the first item on the page, this text is at sections 82 and 83 of the book: search on 82 in Roman numbers to find it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com