US State Dept Report Condemns Egypt’s Treatment of Baha’is, Christians & Others

The US Department of State released today, 14 September 2007, its annual report on International Religious Freedom, which is listed by regions of the globe and individual countries.

Egypt was harshly criticized for its treatment of its minorities and for its violations of human rights. The report is quite extensive and highly comprehensive. It addressed all known violations and focused on several egregious ones. In particular, it addressed several issues affecting the various Christian denominations as well as the crisis facing the Baha'is of Egypt.

Because the report is quite long, and due to the emphasis of this blog, I am only quoting below those paragraphs that address Baha'i issues. The report is divided into several sections which are also highlighted in the quoted paragraphs. Section IV. U.S. Government Policy was included in its entirety for the sake of completeness. This section outlines policies and actions of the US Government in it efforts to address these violations.

Here is a link to the full report on Egypt, followed below with the quoted sections regarding the Baha'is of Egypt.

You may also watch these two videos: the first is of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice introducing the report. The second is of Ambassador at Large John V. Hanford III providing details about the report. In his introduction he spoke, at 16:12, of the condition of the Baha'is of Iran, then in response to questions from the reporters he described to the crisis facing the Baha'is of Egypt (from 12:26 to 12:56). At 35:46 he mentions the recognition of the Baha'is in Vietnam.



Egypt

International Religious Freedom Report 2007
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

The Constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites, although the Government places restrictions on these rights in practice. Islam is the official state religion and Shari'a (Islamic law) is the primary source of legislation; religious practices that conflict with the Government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the Government generally worship without harassment and maintain links with coreligionists in other countries; however, members of religious groups that are not recognized by the Government, particularly the Baha'i Faith, experience personal and collective hardship.

The Government again opposed advances in the respect for religious freedom affecting Baha'is. A government appeal of an April 2006 decision by the Administrative Court, which had supported the right of Baha'i citizens to receive ID cards and birth certificates with religion noted on the documents, resulted in a December 16, 2006 decision to overturn its ruling, and maintained the government prohibition on Baha'i citizens obtaining identity cards.

Tradition and some aspects of the law discriminated against religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha'is. The Government also continued to deny civil documents, including identity cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses, to members of the Baha'i community.

The Ambassador, senior administration officials, and members of Congress continued to raise U.S. concerns about religious discrimination with senior government officials. Specifically, the Embassy and other State Department officials raised concerns with the Government about ongoing discrimination faced by Christians in building and maintaining church properties despite Decree 291 of 2005, official discrimination against Baha'is, and the Government's treatment of Muslim citizens who wish to convert to other faiths.

Section I. Religious Demography

The country has an area of 370,308 square miles and a population of 79 million, of whom almost 90 percent were estimated to be Sunni Muslims. Shi'a Muslims constitute less than 1 percent of the population. Estimates of the percentage of Christians ranged from 8 to 12 percent, or between 6 and 10 million, the majority of whom belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Other Christian communities include the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic (Armenian, Chaldean, Greek, Melkite, Roman, and Syrian Catholic), Maronite, and Orthodox (Greek and Syrian) churches. An evangelical Protestant community, established in the middle of the 19th century, included 16 Protestant denominations (Presbyterian, Episcopal (Anglican), Baptist, Brethren, Open Brethren, Revival of Holiness (Nahdat al-Qadaasa), Faith (Al-Eyman), Church of God, Christian Model Church (Al-Mithaal al-Masihi), Apostolic, Grace (An-Ni'ma), Pentecostal, Apostolic Grace, Church of Christ, Gospel Missionary (Al-Kiraaza bil Ingil), and the Message Church of Holland (Ar-Risaala)). There are also followers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was granted legal status in the 1960s. There are small numbers of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, but the Government does not recognize either group. The non-Muslim, non-Coptic Orthodox communities ranged in size from several thousand to hundreds of thousands. The number of Baha'is is estimated at 2,000 persons. The Jewish community numbers fewer than 200 persons.

Section II. Status of Religious Freedom

Legal/Policy Framework

The Constitution, under Article 46, provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the Government restricts on these rights in practice. Islam is the official state religion, and Shari'a is the primary source of legislation; religious practices that conflict with the Government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited. Members of the non-Muslim religious minorities generally worship without legal harassment and may maintain links with coreligionists in other countries. Members of other religious groups that are not recognized by the Government, particularly the Baha'i Faith, continue to experience personal and collective hardship.

In addition to complaints by Christian citizens to the NCHR, there were also 14 complaints from Baha'is, one of which was signed by 51 complainants who sought the right to have their religion listed on official papers. The report indicated that the NCHR discussed Baha'i concerns with the Ministry of Interior with a view to resolving the issue to the satisfaction of all parties. The NCHR submitted a request to the Prime Minister on December 26, 2006 seeking the removal of the religion field from the government-issued identification cards, but the religion field remained a mandatory section on them at the end of the reporting period.

Abuses of Religious Freedom

The Government continued to deny civil documents, including ID cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses, to members of the Baha'i community. On December 16, 2006, the Supreme Administrative Court overturned a lower court ruling, deciding that Baha'is may not list their religion in the mandatory religion "field" on obligatory government identity cards. In May 2006 the Ministry of Interior had appealed an administrative court ruling issued in April 2006, which supported the right of Baha'i citizens to receive ID cards and birth certificates with the Baha'i religion noted on the documents. The Government insists that religious identification on national identity cards is necessary to determine which laws apply in civil cases. The Government indicated that all citizens must be in possession of new computerized identification cards by January 1, 2007 and that old, hand-written cards would no longer be valid. However, in May 2007 the Government announced that this requirement had been postponed. The Government has issued passports for Baha'i citizens and has stated that it extended the deadline for the use of the old identity cards as a temporary measure until January 2008. (National passports do not indicate the holder's religion.) Citizens not in possession of valid identity documents may be subject to detention.

Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Center issued a legal opinion in December 2003 condemning Baha'is as apostates. In May 2006 the Minister of Justice requested guidance from the IRC in preparation for the Government's appeal against the landmark April 4, 2006 case in support of Baha'i rights. The IRC issued an Islamic legal interpretation stating that the Baha'i Faith was a "heresy." The 2006 interpretation referenced a 1985 opinion that had accused Baha'is of working in support of Zionism and imperialism and labeled them as "apostates."

Law 263 of 1960, still in force, bans Baha'i institutions and community activities and strips Baha'is of legal recognition. During the Nasser era, the Government confiscated all Baha'i community properties, including Baha'i centers, libraries, and cemeteries. The Government has asserted that national identity cards require all citizens to be categorized as Muslims, Christians, or Jews. The Ministry of Interior has reportedly, on rare occasions, issued documents that list a citizen's religion as "other" or simply do not mention religion. But it is not clear when these conditions apply. Baha'is and other religious groups that are not associated with any of the three "heavenly religions" have been compelled either to misrepresent themselves or go without valid identity documents.

Those without valid identity cards encounter difficulty registering their children in school, opening bank accounts, and establishing businesses. Baha'is at age 16 face additional problems under Law 143/1994, which makes it mandatory for all citizens to obtain a new identification card featuring a new national identification number. Police occasionally conduct random inspections of identity papers and those found without identity cards can be detained until the document is provided to the police. Some Baha'is without identity cards reportedly stay home to avoid police scrutiny and possible arrest.

In May 2004 the Government confiscated the identity cards of two Baha'is who were applying for passports. Officials told them that they were acting on instructions from the MOI to confiscate any identity cards belonging to Baha'is.

Some elements of the press published articles critical of the Baha'is. For example, on October 16, 2006, Roz Al-Youssef, a pro-government newspaper, published excerpts of a government advisory report, which supported the MOI's petition to overturn the April 4, 2006 ruling. The report argued that because the Baha'i Faith was not recognized in the country as a "divine religion," its followers were not entitled to citizenship rights. The report argued that constitutional guarantees of freedom of belief and religion do not apply to the Baha'is and that the country is not bound under its commitment as a cosignatory to the U.N. Universal Declaration on Human Rights. The report also asserted that Baha'is are apostates, a threat to public order, and recommended that "methods must be defined that would insure that Baha'is are identified, confronted, and singled out so that they could be watched carefully, isolated and monitored in order to protect the rest of the population as well as Islam from their danger, influence, and teachings."

Section IV. U.S. Government Policy

Religious freedom is an important part of the bilateral dialogue. The right of religious freedom has been raised with senior government officials by all levels of the U.S. Government, including by visiting members of Congress, the Secretary of State, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, the Ambassador, and other State Department and embassy officials. The Embassy maintains formal contacts with the Office of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Embassy also discusses religious freedom issues regularly in contacts with other government officials, including governors and members of Parliament. The Ambassador has made public statements supporting religious freedom, interfaith understanding, and efforts toward harmony and equality among citizens of all religious groups. Specifically, the Embassy and other State Department officials raised concerns with the Government about ongoing discrimination faced by Christians in building and maintaining church properties despite Decree 291 of 2005, official discrimination against Baha'is, and the Government's treatment of Muslim citizens who wish to convert. In addition, the Embassy sent observers to attend court hearings concerning Baha'i efforts to attain identity documents.

The Embassy maintains an active dialogue with leaders of the Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Baha'i religious communities, human rights groups, and other activists. The Embassy investigates complaints of official religious discrimination brought to its attention. It also discusses religious freedom with a range of contacts, including academics, businessmen, and citizens outside of the capital area. U.S. officials actively challenge anti-Semitic articles in the media through discussions with editors-in-chief and journalists.

U.S. programs and activities support initiatives in several areas directly related to religious freedom, including funding for CEOSS programs that work with Coptic community groups in Upper Egypt, as well as support for NGOs that monitor the country's media for occurrences of sectarian bias.

The U.S. Government is working to strengthen civil society, supporting secular channels and the broadening of a civic culture that promotes religious tolerance and supporting projects that promote tolerance and mutual respect between different religious communities.

The Embassy supports the development of educational materials that encourage tolerance, diversity, and understanding of others, in both Arabic-language and English-language curriculums.

The U.S. Government developed a version of the television program Sesame Street designed to reach remote households that has as one of its goals the promotion of tolerance, including among different religious groups. According to a recent household survey, the program, begun in 2000, is reaching more than 90 percent of elementary school-aged children.

The Embassy is also working with the Supreme Council of Antiquities to promote the conservation of cultural antiquities, including Islamic, Christian, and Jewish historical sites.

Released on September 14, 2007

Yes or NO for Religion on ID Cards: Controversy Continues in Egypt

Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) met on the 10th of September 2007, to debate the question of religious classification in ID cards. This controversy continues as it had before when the NCHR met in its symposium of August 2006. There are those who continue to call for the elimination of religious classification, while others insist on leaving this section in identity documents. This time, the Council even proposed to remove the section on religion from the card, but to leave it in the non-visible magnetic (smart) component of the card in order to appease both sides of the argument.

Those that oppose removing religious classification claim that it is the only way to know who belongs to which religion so that laws of inheritance, marriage and divorce can be applied. They ignore the fact that religious identification can be easily accomplished through other means, such as separate documents issued by the religious authorities to their respective adherents. This option did not seem to appear in any of the debates, statements or reports emerging from these symposia. Those who support the removal of religious classification affirm that it would ensure equality in Egypt and would assist in the elimination of extremist views and divisiveness in a society so plagued with multiplicities of serious problems. They see it as one of the roads towards an improved and tolerant Egyptian society.

This workshop (symposium) was attended by several prominent figures representing all sections of society, governmental agencies and authorities that are in positions of decision-making and power. Representatives of the Egyptian Baha’i community (see link) were invited to speak at the workshop in order to express their needs and views. Additionally, Mr. Ahmed Ezzat, the independent documentary filmmaker was invited to show his film “Identity Crisis” regarding the Baha’is of Egypt.

The upshot of this development is that the NCHR is now proposing that religion should continue to be indicated on ID cards, but that all religious denominations (not only Islam, Christianity or Judaism) should be allowed to be entered in these documents, regardless of whether or not the State recognizes these religions. The council insists that this is a matter of citizenship. An individual must be entirely free to choose his or her own belief. All three major Christian Churches (Orthodox, Catholic & Engeleiah [Biblical]) in Egypt also refuse the elimination of religious classification, but stress that the matter of citizenship rights must be enforced. On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior and the Muslim Brotherhood movement oppose both the elimination of religious classification and any mention of religions other than Muslim Christian or Jewish.

News of this symposium were widely covered in prominent Egyptian media outlets, such as the attached Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. The ruling party's Al-Watany Al-Youm newspaper showed a front page headline, on 11 September 2007, written by Ahmed Kamal Abul-Magd (see link) which stated "it is the right of the Baha'is to indicate their religion on ID Cards." The independent weekly Nahdet Misr newspaper also wrote, on the 11th of September, an extensive article reporting on the symposium, and clearly expressing the views that the government cannot interfere with citizen's freedom to choose their own religion or belief (see link). The entire coverage was extensive, objective and well balanced.

Youth Want Peace: the rest is up to us!

Here is a wonderful example of a constructive strategy, from which the rest of the world can learn. This amazing video, emerging from the planet's most volatile spot, produced by OneVoice movement and presented to Kings and Prime Ministers in Davos, Switzerland, clearly illustrates the yearning for peace. It describes a systematic approach to solving conflicts in a region plagued with hostilities, hatred and long history of wars. The youth took it upon themselves to initiate a transformation that might lead, at least, to a political solution of this long-lived dispute. Who else can project this dire need better than the youth who hold the key to the future?

"One Common Faith"

In 2005, the Baha'i World Centre released a publication, named "One Common Faith," in the English language. The entire text of this publication can be accessed at this link. A summary of the book's contents can be previewed here, and an "etext" with numbered paragraphs can also be accessed here.

The book, which is described as a "chilling historical account...and a sobering examination of the catastrophic result of 20th century materialism and economic exploitation..." provides us with a glimpse of its powerful message on the current state of human affairs through this paragraph found on page-5 of the text: "Throughout that part of the world where the vast majority of the earth’s population live, facile announcements that “God is Dead” had passed largely unnoticed. The experience of the peoples of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific had long confirmed them in the view not only that human nature is deeply influenced by spiritual forces, but that its very identity is spiritual. Consequently, religion continued, as had always been the case, to function as the ultimate authority in life. These convictions, while not directly confronted by the ideological revolution taking place in the West, were effectively marginalized by it, insofar as interaction among peoples and nations was concerned. Having penetrated and captured all significant centres of power and information at the global level, dogmatic materialism ensured that no competing voices would retain the ability to challenge projects of world wide economic exploitation. To the cultural damage already inflicted by two centuries of colonial rule was added an agonizing disjunction between the inner and outer experience of the masses affected, a condition invading virtually all aspects of life. Helpless to exercise any real influence over the shaping of their futures or even to preserve the moral well-being of their children, these populations were plunged into a crisis different from but in many ways even more devastating than the one gathering momentum in Europe and North America. Although retaining its central role in consciousness, faith appeared impotent to influence the course of events."

The book is now available in Arabic, and below is the information on how to acquire this publication:

"One Common Faith"

(in Arabic)

Translated by Professor Suheil Bushrui and published by Al Saqi Books
(More on Bushrui)

Order directly from:

Al Saqi Books
26 Westbourne Grove
London w2 5RH
Tel: (020) 7229 8543
Fax: (020) 7229 7492
Website: http://www.alsaqibookshop.com/

Update on ordering the book!
You can fax or e-mail with the book details shown below:
orders@alsaqibookshop.com
Tel: (020) 7229 8543
Fax: (020) 7229 7492

Book Name: Dinu'llah-i-Wahid
"One Common Faith"
ISBN 978-1-85516-660-8

Second update!
You can order online at this link.

Egypt's Identity Crisis in Dutch Media

On 4 September 2007, the Dutch national newspaper "NRC Handelsblad" published an extensive article on the crisis of identity documents and religious classification in Egypt.

The translation of this article from Dutch to English was graciously provided by Dr. Martijn Rep, an academician from the Netherlands.

The article contains one error referring to future Prophets which was corrected in brackets.

NRC Handelsblad
4 september 2007
By Alexander Weissink

“According to Egyptian law we cannot even die”

An Egyptian is a Muslim, Christian or Jew; a Baha’i or Qur’anist does not exist

In Egypt there is no place for people who deviate from the three recognized religions. Everybody must be Muslim, Christian or Jew. And preferably the first. There is no freedom of choice. Unless you want to become Muslim.

Today, Raouf Hindi (51) appeared before the judge with his 14-year old twin Emad and Nancy. “Initially I did not want to expose them to the resentful Muslims and hostile press in the court”, he said. “But they must witness this experiment. We are going to write history.” They are Baha’i, a religion that is not recognized in Egypt. Because of that, the children have still not received their birth certificates.

Egyptian citizens are obliged to state their religion when applying for birth certificates and identity cards. There are three possibilities: Muslim, Christian or Jewish, the only divine religions, according to the authorities. “If you are not one of the three, you don’t exist”, Hindi says.

When he returned from twenty years working as a dentist in the Gulf, he had to change the birth certificates of his children, issued by Oman, into Egyptian documents. The original certificates mentioned that the children are Baha’i, but the authorities forced him to write 'Muslim'. He went to the judge to at least be able not to write any religion. “Then, at least we do not have to lie”, he said. “Because if we write 'Muslim' we will afterwards be accused of being an apostate. There are plenty of crazy people who believe such a person deserves death.” After four years of legal proceedings, the judge would pass judgment today.

Baha’is see their faith as a continuation of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. They recognize the respective Prophets, but believe Muhammad was not the last Messenger from God. Baha’u’llah, who started the [Baha’i] movement one-and-a-half centuries ago in Iran, would be the ninth Prophet. A thousand years after his death a tenth and last Prophet will appear [“last Prophet” statement is incorrect…Baha’is believe that there is no end to Divine guidance and Messengers of God – MR]. In Egypt, there are at most a few thousand Baha’is. Worldwide there are an estimated five million, with Iran, India and the U.S.A. having the largest communities.

Two years ago, the government decided to exclusively issue electronically manufactured plastic identity cards. “Before that time, the authorities usually wrote ‘other’ in the religion section of our papers or left it blank”, says Hindi who showed his old, crumpled papers as evidence. “But when I came to register my children they registered me as Muslim in the computer.”

The old identity papers will no longer be valid by the end of this year. “From that moment on we are trapped”, says Hindi. “Without that card you can’t do anything. Babies are not vaccinated, children cannot go to school, banks do not want to open accounts and you cannot own a house or a car. Because we cannot get a marriage certificate, all our children are unlawful. We cannot even obtain a death certificate, because we do not exist. Officially, we cannot even die.”

The Baha’is are not the only ones who have problems with their papers because of their faith. Muslims who want to convert to Christianity have great difficulty to change their identity card. “Most, therefore, keep their old papers that mention ‘Muslim’ as long as possible. But when they want to marry or get children, they have to change their card”, tells Ramsis al-Naggar, a well-known lawyer who has specialized in cases involving conversion. “Muslim women who convert but haven’t changed their papers cannot marry a Christian. Converted men have to change their papers because otherwise the authorities will automatically register their children as Muslim.”

Hardly a week goes by without a new quarrel concerning a case of conversion in the Egyptian media. “That’s killing”, says Al-Naggar. “The trick is to attract as little attention as possible.” Of his 400 clients who have become Christian, he has been able to help only twenty-six to new papers. “A Christian who wants to become Muslim obtains a new card in only three hours. But a Muslim who wants to become Christian obtains, with a lot of luck, new papers in eight months,” says the lawyer. Even a court judgment is no guarantee. “The authorities cannot refuse, because that is against the law and international treaties, but they can delay endlessly.”

A young couple sits in the waiting room. The man wants to become Christian and marry the woman. That is all Al-Naggar allows them to say. “If their names become known, they will be harassed by fundamentalists who wish death upon them on the grounds of Islamic law. But those extremists know nothing of the law. They only yell ‘Shar’ia, shari’a, shar’ia’.”

The theoretically secular government, under fundamentalist pressure, more and more acts as guardian of Islam and in that function increasingly limits freedom of religion. But that, according to Hossam Bahgat, director of the human rights organisation “Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights,” is only part of the explanation. “It is too easy to think that those nasty fundamentalists force the government to do something annoying”, says Bahgat, whose organisation supports converts among others. “The most important cause of the discrimination is that all matters of religion are monopolized by the security service”, says Bahgat. “Any challenge to the status-quo is seen as a threat to the state. That is why the authorities are so rigid and the government responds so nervously when minorities demand recognition of their rights.”

The most recent victims of this are the Qur’anists. This movement, which has only a few dozen followers in Egypt, accepts only the Qur’an as God’s word and does not accept the hadith, the traditions on the Prophet, because the reliability of these cannot be verified. For the Sunnies, the large majority in Egypt, the hadith are an integral part of Islam. In May, five Qur’anists were arrested. They are still waiting for an official charge.

Hindi shakes his head. “We are not only viewed as apostates, but also as enemies of the state.” He paints a gloomy picture. “We call Egypt the oldest civilization of the world, but is this truly civilized? They force the people to lie and with that they create a land of hypocrites. Why do they ask for my religious faith anyway? Isn’t that something between me and God?”

A Tribute to a Loved Giant: Luciano Pavarotti

The New York Times wrote: "Luciano Pavarotti, the Italian singer whose ringing, pristine sound set a standard for operatic tenors of the postwar era, died Thursday at his home near Modena, in northern Italy. He was 71."

Read more here....

Thanks to Barney Leith for the link below:
Credit: David Henderson

Egypt: the "Other" Lawsuit that Got Postponed

Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice dealt with another lawsuit regarding a Baha'i youth on the 4th of September. It, too, had the same fate as the twins' case: it got postponed until the 30 October 2007 court session.

This second lawsuit (no. 12780/61) was filed by the the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) last February on behalf of Hosni Hussein Abdel-Massih, born in 1989, who was suspended from the Suez Canal University's Higher Institute of Social Work due to his inability to obtain an identity card because he is a Baha'i. It is quite common now for Baha'i students in post-secondary education in Egypt to face suspension or expulsion because of their failure to obtain ID cards or military service postponement papers.

Hosni Hussein had already passed his final examinations after completing his first year at the university but was not promoted to the second year, as he is entitled to, and was suspended from the university. In order for Egyptian students to complete their university education without interruption, they are required to produce a military draft postponement document that would permit them to complete their education. One cannot obtain a military draft number without being issued a national ID number and a national ID card. Since this Baha'i student, and many others, are being denied a national ID number because of their religion, they are unable to obtain a military draft number, thus cannot continue their university matriculation. The only option they have left is to lie about their religion and enter one of Egypt's recognized three (Islam, Christianity or Judaism) in order to obtain an ID card. The ID application form clearly states that any false statements will be punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines.

Interestingly this case has been coupled with the twins case in the same court through one postponement after the other. Meanwhile this student (Hosni) awaits his fate sitting at home with his education on hold.

One can read the full story of this case as well as the twins' case in a press release, dated 5 September 2007, by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) in English at this link and in Arabic at this link.

The press release concludes with this statement:
"The Egyptian government has a legal obligation to protect citizens from religious discrimination and coercion under the Constitution as well as international and regional treaties it ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The government is also obliged to protect the right to education without distinction on any basis, including religion or belief, under the African Charter, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child."

Egypt: Twins Case Postponed Again

Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice convened today to render a decision on the case of Emad and Nancy, the Egyptian Baha'i 14-year-old twins waiting for their Egyptian birth certificates. The courtroom was full of Egyptian activist youth from a variety of backgrounds who came to the Court to show their support for the twins. Interestingly, the few Baha'is attending today appear completely at ease in this court...after all they have been frequent guests of these chambers lately!

The court postponed its decision again for its upcoming session of 30 October 2007, which would be this court's fourth session regarding this case. Meanwhile the twins remain without Egyptian birth certificates.

Egypt's Administrative Court Decides Case of Twins Tomorrow

The Egyptian Christian website The Free Copts has just published an article on an important upcoming case before Egypt's Administrative Court, regarding the 14-year-old twin Egyptian Baha'i children Emad and Nancy who remain, to this date, without Egyptian birth certificates. The court heard the case on 7 May 2007, postponed it until 3 July 2007, and again the court had postponed this case for a decision to be heard tomorrow, the 4th of September. Meanwhile the twin children remain without recognition of their birth, thus deprived of education, vaccination, health care and other essential services.

The Christian website article, entitled "New dilemma in front of the Egyptian Supreme Administrative Court," explains the case of Emad and Nancy and compares them to the controversy of a twin Egyptian Christian boys, Andrew & Mario, whose father, having converted from Christianity to Islam, is assisted by the authorities in forcing the conversion of his boys to Islam without their consent.

Below is the unedited article on The Free Copts website:

Following Andrew and Mario, starts another cycle of struggle to evince religion for children. The Supreme Administrative Court will look into the lawsuit filed by the Egyptian citizen Raouf Hindi Halim (a Baha’i convert) on the 4th of September, in which he is pleading to issue official papers for his twins, Imad and Nancy aged 14 years, with the religion field left blank – for manual filling - or to write (Baha'i) in the religion column. He strongly refused to write any other religion in that field, as a belief of religious freedom and based on the recognition by some Arab countries for the Baha'i religion such as the Sultanate of Oman.

Halim had resided in Oman and had issued official papers for his twins there. The case was postponed several times since it was first brought before the administrative court on 7/12/2004.
The lawsuit came after the concerned authorities had refused to issue any official papers for them for three years as a refusal for the children (Imad and Nancy) to pursue their father’s religion - the baha’i. We contacted the father Raouf Hindi Halim, who ensured that the refusal of the concerned authorities for issuing identity papers for his children is an explicit violation of article (18) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates that (everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion). It also violates Article 18 of the International Treaty concerning the Civil and Political Rights, which has become obligating for the Egyptian government after joining in 1982. The article states that: Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the freedom to have or adopt a religion or the freedom to follow any religion or belief of one's choice.
The article protects monotheistic and non-monotheistic faiths as well as atheism. It prevents further acts of intimidation that would impair the right to a religion or to be forced to follow a religion against will, using alternative methods including the use of violence, authority or punitive force.
The existence of religion adhered to by the majority of a population must not lead to any other obstruction of rights set forth in the Treaty, including the articles (27,18), and must not lead to any kind of discrimination for pursuing other beliefs, including the denial of some of their civil rights, like the refusal for issuance of official documents that prove their national identity as in the case of my children, which started three years ago.
Imad and Nancy await a verdict on 4th of September hoping that the court would grant them justice and make them useful members of society by giving them a national identity.
Halim adds: "strangely the government is doing so with my children as opposed to their unwavering stance for Andrew and Mario to follow their father’s religion after his conversion to Islam," In the end, the father pointed that Imad, Nancy, Andrew and Mario are all examples of children demanding their rights, and pleaded to the just and honorable Egyptian Authorities not to deprive the children of their sense of freedom and rights to embrace a religion of their choice, a right guaranteed by most countries of the world, including some Arab countries like the Sultanate of Oman.

Translated by The Free Copts from the original Arabic version

The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights Corrects Egypt's Al-Masry Al-Youm Article

The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights has just published a post correcting an error in the title of an article published in Al-Masry Al-Youm Egyptian newspaper which unintentionally indicated that the Egyptian tourism ad video, linked here, was produced by the Baha'is. Surely this misrepresentation was simply an error by the newspaper and hopefully the newspaper will correct it in its upcoming edition.

The Network's post states: "The article notes that the “Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights” publicized the video however the title implies that the network is composed of or contributed by Baha’is. We’d just like to assure the journalist that this project is by independent Muslim activists."

Below is the post published on the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights:

The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights » Al Masry Al Youm covers Egyptian tourism ad video

The Network also stated the following in Arabic for the benefit of Arabic-speaking readers:

Just a further comment to encourage support from our fellow Muslim readers:

نحن طلاب عرب و مسلمين, بدأنا ألعمل في هاذا الموقع لأننا نؤمن بحقوق الإنسان الذي يستحقه جميع أفراد مجتمعنا. البهائيون دائما يدافعون عننا و يساعدوننا في الحفاظة على سمعة الإسلام في العالم فلماذا لا نساندهم و نهتم في امورهم هل لاننا لا نؤمن بنفس الديانة؟ هاذا لا يخالف فكلنا بشر من نفس التراب فيا اخواننا المسلمين يجب ان نتوحد لكي نظمن للبهائيون حقوقهم البشرية

يا جماعة الخير فعملنا في هاذا الموقع مهم جدأ فيجب ان نتعاون بشكل جميل من اجل مجتمع اقوى و اكبر و احسن و من اجل ديننا ايظا فالاسلام يشجع بلتعاون و المحبة

... بارك الله فيكم جميعا

Egypt: Media Coverage on Showing of Film on Baha'i Rights

The Egyptian newspaper el-Badeel, in its 28 August 2007 edition, published an article about the recent documentary film made by the independent film maker Mr. Ahmed Ezzat. The article is authored by Khaled Abdel-Rasoul and Sarah El-Masry and is entitled "First Film on the Baha'i Quagmire in Egypt."

The film, titled "My Belief or My Country [Identity Crisis]," was shown at Egypt's Cinematic Cultural Centre upon the invitation of the Egyptian Film Critics Association on 26 August. Previously, this film was invited for showing at the last Alexandria Film Festival, but was banned by Egypt's security and censorship agencies. The documentary is 34 minutes long, and required approximately 35 hours of filming and 300 hours of montage.

The film's director, Ahmed Ezzat, stated that "the principal reason for him to handle the Baha'i case was for the cause of justice and not religion, because human rights cannot be partial, but should be applicable to all." He also added that "the film was produced entirely at his own expense." It is of note that Ahmed Ezzat is an Egyptian Muslim.

Following the film's showing, a heated discussion ensued at the exhibition hall, which was crowded with human rights activists, film makers and critics, thinkers, members of the Baha'i community and the general public. The discussion focused on the issues raised by the film as well as those facing Egypt, such as citizenship, freedom of belief, religious classification on ID cards, and freedom related litigation cases in general.

The film's promotional piece is posted below. The film, in its entirety, will soon be available for viewing. When such time arrives, an announcement will be made on this site.

Egypt: ID Cards Vs. Ancient Civilization!

This video clip, entitled "Egypt Tourism Ad" was just published by the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights on YouTube. It depicts the dilemma of certain citizens of Egypt, such as Baha'is, who are denied their ID cards because of their religious affiliation. Egypt will only allow the entry of one of three religions on the mandated computerized ID card forms, namely: Muslim, Christian or Jewish. If anyone belongs to any other Faith than these three, then the person is denied the ID card. The application form also clearly states that the entry of any false statements will lead to imprisonment and heavy fines. A citizen of Egypt without ID card is considered non-existent and cannot have any rights in his or her own country. All essential services in Egypt mandates the use of ID cards. The lack of such documents in Egypt amounts to Civil Death.

Also see Egyptian identification card controversy at Wikipedia.



The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights describes itself as follows:

The Muslim network for Baha’i rights is developed by a group of Muslim interfaith activists who believe in tolerance, coexistence and freedom. We created this site to promote human rights, religious freedom and respect within the Arab and Muslim world. We strongly believe that such values should apply it to all people equally regardless of their faith, cultural differences, political stance or nationality. We are making this effort not only as believers of freedom, but also for the sake of a better and more productive society.

In this network, there are a few things that readers should keep in mind:
. The authors are Muslim interfaith activists who are deeply concerned with the treatment of Baha’is within the Middle East.
. We don’t believe in the Baha’i faith, yet we respect those who do. There are minorities within our societies who are practicing Baha’is and for that, their rights are very rarely recognized, simply because of their religious differences. We do not approve of this.
. We created this site to demand that the rights of Baha’i minorities is recognized by not only people, but by law.
. We respectfully demand that all governments within the Arab and Muslim world allow Baha’i citizens to have equal opportunities in all fields and to practice their faith freely without facing any threats or discrimination whatsoever.
. We would like to make the general public of the region be aware of Baha’i human rights abuses in order to take effective action against it. We can only successfully achieve the goals of this website if we move our citizens towards real action, no matter what our religious differences are.
. We are all civilians in need of basic rights, and thus we should join forces regardless of our differences and unite in a celebration of our diversity. Join us in this worthy struggle and make our goals a greater possibility in the name of freedom.

Is There Any Religious Freedom in Egypt?

This article, published on Compass Direct News illustrates a very interesting dilemma. It is the story of an Egyptian man who had decided to convert from Islam to Christianity only to find himself in a very precarious position--he cannot obtain an ID card stating that he is indeed a Christian. Consequently, he had to resort to the courts in order to obtain his rights.

Thus far, Egypt has always used the excuse of not recognizing the Baha'i Faith in order to deny the Baha'is their civil rights. Egypt has clearly stated that it only recognizes three religions as divine, namely: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Officially it will grant anyone who is a follower of any of these religions his or her full citizenship rights.

Now, this case involves a man who supposedly belongs to one of the three recognized religions in Egypt, but apparently because he had converted from Islam to Christianity, he is being denied his rights. However, legal conversion from Christianity to Islam occurs regularly in Egypt, and those who convert have no difficulty whatsoever in obtaining ID documents stating that they are Muslims.

Here is his story:

Tuesday August 07, 2007

EGYPT: MUSLIM SUES FOR RIGHT TO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY

Christian's attorney facing death threats from Egyptian security police.

ISTANBUL, August 6 (Compass Direct News) – A Muslim convert to Christianity filed suit against Egypt last week for refusing to legally recognize his change of religion, sparking a reactionary lawsuit by Muslim clerics and death threats against his lawyer.

Mohammed Ahmed Hegazy, 24, brought a case against Egypt’s interior ministry on Thursday (August 2) for rejecting his application to replace Islam with Christianity on his personal identification papers.

“I think it is my natural right, to embrace the religion I believe and not to have to have a double personality for me as well as for my wife and my expected baby,” said Hegazy, who converted to Christianity when he was 16.

Though Egyptian law does not forbid conversion from Islam to Christianity, it provides no legal means to make the change. Converts to Christianity usually hide their identity to avoid torture and forced recantation at the hands of family members and security police.

Hegazy, whose wife Zeinab is four months pregnant, said that he wants his child to be born with Christian papers. The couple, who were forced to hold an Islamic wedding ceremony because of their legal status as Muslims, know that a Christian ID card will allow their child to take Christian religion classes in school, marry in a church and even openly attend services without fear of harassment. Read the rest here....

Egypt Begins Soon Exclusive Use of New ID Document

Egypt's leading daily newspaper Al-Ahram published an article on 8 August 2007, in which it describes plans for the exclusive use of the new computerised national ID number/card and the total abandonment of the older paper ID documents.

Thus far, Baha'is remain prevented by the government from being issued the new ID cards, and are only in possession of the old paper documents. The only option given to them, as instructed by the Ministry of Interior, is that they must lie on the application form regarding their religious affiliation in order to obtain ID documents. They are given only three choices (Muslim Christian or Jew). The application form clearly states that any false statements made by the applicant will be punishable by imprisonment and heavy fines. The ID card system does not allow for any other options, such as leaving the space for religion blank.

The newspaper article indicates that it was decided that the new ID card will be "an essential element in all transactions." This was decided by Prime Minister Dr. Ahmed Nazeef in a meeting on 7 August 2007 with the Minister of Interior as well as some other ministers.

The Prime Minister requested "a deadline" by which the use of the old paper ID card will stop. This will be accomplished very soon when nearly 90% of the population have been issued the new cards.

It was also reported in this article that according to a spokesperson of the Assembly of Ministries that the new ID system will be applied to "all services used by Egyptian citizens within the country." This includes all government transactions. Currently several ministries have been exclusively accepting the new ID card. These ministries are: Interior, Defense, Health and Justice.

"In preparation for this, it is expected that the Ministry of Interior will announce soon the complete cessation of the use of the old paper ID document."

The implications of this announcement are quite ominous. Soon the Baha'is and other religious minorities (except Muslims, Christians and Jews) will not be able to have any rights in their own society. It implies large-scale job firings and dismissals from universities. Already, Baha'is are unable to obtain health care and children cannot get vaccination in public institutions. In other words, Baha'is and any other religious minorities--if they exist--will suffer "civil death."

Additionally, Egyptian Baha'i university students have been expelled because they were unable to produce the required military draft postponement document, which requires the new ID card for it to be granted. One student was expelled just before graduation from his university. Another student, after passing his first year examination, was prevented from being promoted to the second year and was suspended from the university until he can produce his military draft document.

US Congress: Briefing on Religious Freedom in Egypt

Nina Shea, Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has recently presented a Briefing on “Religious Freedom in Egypt: Recent Developments” before the Task Force on Religious Freedom Of the United States House of Representatives. The Commission's Annual Report was published on 2 May 2007. The section on Egypt is on pages 203-211 of the report. The testimony was presented by Ms. Shea on 23 May 2007.

As the briefing went into great details in describing the violations of religious freedoms of the various minorities in Egypt, and because of the known focus of this blog, this post will point mainly to the sections of the briefing where it mentioned the crisis currently facing the Baha'is of Egypt.

In the introductory paragraphs it states: "...These violations include continued prosecution in state security courts and imprisonment of those accused of “unorthodox” Islamic religious beliefs or practices, including those who are not militants; discrimination against, restrictions on, interference with, and harassment and surveillance of members of non-Muslim religious minorities, particularly Christians and Baha’is, by the Egyptian state security services...."

Later on it states: "...Under the Emergency Law, the security forces are given license to mistreat and torture prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, hold detainees in prolonged pretrial detention, and occasionally engage in mass arrests. Thousands of persons have been detained without charge on suspicion of illegal terrorist or political activity; others are serving sentences after being convicted on similar charges. Non-Muslim religious minorities, particularly Christians and Baha’is, report discrimination, interference, harassment, and surveillance by these same state security services."

It also describes the specific issues facing the Baha'is in the following two paragraphs:
"Life in Egypt is particularly difficult for members of the Baha’i faith, whose institutions and community activities have been banned since 1960 by a presidential decree, leaving them unable to meet and engage in group religious activities. Over the years, Baha’is have been arrested and imprisoned because of their religious beliefs, often on charges of insulting Islam. Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Center has issued fatwas (religious edicts) in recent years urging the continued ban on the Baha’i community and condemning Baha’is as apostates.

The Egyptian government’s requirement that religious affiliation be included on national identity cards especially affects the Baha’i community. Since only Islam, Christianity, and Judaism are protected under the Constitution, these are the only choices for religious affiliation, effectively preventing Baha’is from obtaining identity cards, which are needed for many basic transactions, such as opening a bank account, buying a car, or obtaining a driver’s license. There was a glimmer of hope in April 2006, when a lower Egyptian administrative court ruled that a Baha’i couple should be permitted to identify their religious affiliation on official government documents. However, this positive development proved short-lived, as the Interior Ministry appealed the ruling following the advice of religious authorities and some parliamentary members. A higher court suspended the original decision in May, creating a sense of insecurity in the Baha’i community. In December of last year, the Supreme Administrative Court ruling upheld the government’s discriminatory policy of prohibiting Egyptian Baha’is from obtaining a national identity card. When the Commission visited Egypt in July 2004, we met with representatives of the Baha’i community who expressed to us in very stark terms the ramifications for their lives in Egypt without identity cards—they would essentially be shoved to the perimeters of society and prevented from pursuing normal, everyday functions needed to sustain themselves."

Regarding Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), the briefing states the following:
"On a positive note, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), a government-appointed advisory body which was formed in 2003, has emerged as an important entity in Egypt. The Commission met with a representative of the NCHR just yesterday, and was encouraged to hear of some of its new efforts in addressing religious freedom concerns. In November 2005, the NCHR announced the formation of a sub-group, the “Citizenship Committee,” to focus on religious freedom issues. As a result, the NCHR’s 2006 annual report contained increased reporting on religious freedom concerns, including on the situation of Baha’is; problems facing Jehovah’s Witnesses; violence targeting Christians; and the need for the government to pass a law on the construction of new places of worship for all religious groups."

The briefing concludes with the following recommendations:
"The Commission has made several specific recommendations for U.S. policy which are included in our Annual Report, which was just released three weeks ago. I would like to highlight a few of those recommendations if I may.

The Commission has recommended the U.S. government should establish a timetable for implementation of political and human rights reforms; if deadlines are not met, the U.S. government should reconsider the appropriate allocation of its assistance to the Egyptian government. Finally, in the context of the annual congressional appropriation for U.S. assistance to Egypt, Congress should require the State Department to report to it annually on the extent to which the government of Egypt has made progress on the issues described here and in my written testimony.

The Commission also recommends that the U.S. government urge the Egyptian government to:
. repeal the state of emergency, in existence since 1981, in order to allow for the full consolidation of the rule of law in Egypt, but ensure that the emergency decree is not replaced by other legislation that allows security forces to continue such actions as arbitrary arrest, pro-longed detention without charge, and torture and other ill-treatment;
. remove de facto responsibility for religious affairs from the state security services, with the exception of cases involving violence or the advocacy of violence;
. repeal Article 98(f) of the Penal Code, which “prohibits citizens from ridiculing or insulting heavenly religions or inciting sectarian strife”; allow for full access to the constitutional and international guarantees of the rule of law and due process for those individuals charged with violating Article 98(f); and release Internet blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman and any individuals convicted under Article 98(f) on account of their religion or belief;
. implement procedures that would ensure that all places of worship are subject to the same transparent, non-discriminatory, and efficient regulations regarding construction and maintenance;
. repeal a 1960 presidential decree banning members of the Baha’i community from practicing their faith and ensure that every Egyptian can obtain a national identity card by either (a) omitting mention of religious affiliation, or (b) making optional any mention of religious affiliation;
. cease all messages of hatred and intolerance, particularly toward Jews and Baha’is, in the government-controlled media; and
. more actively investigate religious-based violence against Egyptian citizens, particularly Coptic Christians, prosecute perpetrators responsible for the violence, and ensure compensation for victims.

Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, only a few years ago, our government was an outspoken advocate of democratic reform and human rights in Egypt. Yet, in the past year or so, U.S. policy has shifted and there have been missed opportunities by U.S. officials to express publicly their concerns regarding religious freedom. The U.S. government has become seemingly reluctant to condemn developments in Egypt that clearly signal a backsliding in human rights protections. Yes, Egypt is an important country—to the United States and in the world today. Yes, the Egyptian government appears to be making great efforts to combat extremism; yet, these same security services that work actively against extremists seem unable—or unwilling—to find the perpetrators of extremist violence against religious minorities and hold them to account.

Egypt also receives a substantial amount of U.S. assistance. It is critical that our government hold the Egyptian government accountable for its policies and practices that violate the human rights, including religious freedom, of so many Egyptians.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. I welcome any questions that you might have."

Grand Mufti of Egypt on "Freedom of Religion"

The Washington Post has published a collection of articles, on 21 July 2007, under a section entitled "Muslims Speak Out" that featured, among others, Ali Gomma'a, the Grand Mufti of Egypt. One third of his statements were specific to the question of "Freedom of Religion in Islam."

Coverage of this article was also published in Arabic in Egypt's Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper and Al-Arabiya website.

The Washington Post describes the Grand Mufti as follows: "Since 2003, Dr. Ali Gomaa has served as the Grand Mufti of the Arab Republic of Egypt, a position of religious authority second only to the Sheikh al-Azhar. As one of Islam’s most respected scholars of Islamic law, Dr. Ali Gomaa oversees Dar al-Ifta, Egypt’s highest body for delivering opinions on religious law. Details"

In that section of the Washington Post the Grand Mufti stated the following when he addressed religious freedom question:

Freedom of Religion in Islam

The essential question before us is can a person who is Muslim choose a religion other than Islam? The answer is yes, they can, because the Quran says, “Unto you your religion, and unto me my religion,” [Quran, 109:6], and, “Whosoever will, let him believe, and whosoever will, let him disbelieve,” [Quran, 18:29], and, “There is no compulsion in religion. The right direction is distinct from error,” [Quran, 2:256].

These verses from the Quran discuss a freedom that God affords all people. But from a religious perspective, the act of abandoning one’s religion is a sin punishable by God on the Day of Judgment. If the case in question is one of merely rejecting faith, then there is no worldly punishment. If, however, the crime of undermining the foundations of the society is added to the sin of apostasy, then the case must be referred to a judicial system whose role is to protect the integrity of the society. Otherwise, the matter is left until the Day of Judgment, and it is not to be dealt with in the life of this world. It is an issue of conscience, and it is between the individual and God. In the life of this world, “There is no compulsion in religion,” in the life of this world, “Unto you your religion and unto me my religion,” and in the life of this world, “He who wills believes and he who wills disbelieves,” while bearing in mind that God will punish this sin on the Day of Judgment, unless it is combined with an attempt to undermine the stability of the society, in which case it is the society that holds them to account, not Islam.

All religions have doctrinal points that define what it is to be an adherent of that religion. These are divine injunctions that form the basis of every religion, but they are not a means for imposing a certain system of belief on others by force. According to Islam, it is not permitted for Muslims to reject their faith, so if a Muslim were to leave Islam and adopt another religion, they would thereby be committing a sin in the eyes of Islam. Religious belief and practice is a personal matter, and society only intervenes when that personal matter becomes public and threatens the well-being of its members.

In some cases, this sin of the individual may also represent a greater break with the commonly held values of a society in an attempt to undermine its foundations or even attack its citizenry. Depending on the circumstances, this may reach the level of a crime of sedition against one’s society. Penalizing this sedition may be at odds with some conceptions of freedom that would go so far as to ensure people the freedom to destroy the society in which they live. This is a freedom that we do not allow since preservation of the society takes precedence over personal freedoms. This was the basis of the Islamic perspective on apostasy when committed at certain times and under certain circumstances.

After reading this, one must ask the following questions:

1) What is the definition of a "religion other than Islam?"
2) It is a known fact that Egypt recognizes three religions only (Islam, Christianity & Judaism). What is the status of other religions then? Are these teachings and interpretations applicable to them? How about Hindus, Buddhists and Baha'is?
3) As the quotations from the Qur'an, included by the Grand Mufti, give no reference whatsoever to which religions a person is free to choose, Who is to decide then that only certain religions are to be acceptable for the individual choice of belief--without falling into the trap of being accused of "a crime of sedition against one’s society?" Why should there be any restrictions on personal freedom of belief in this age? Don't these restrictions violate the individual freedoms guaranteed by all international declarations of human rights, including those of Egypt's own constitution?
4) As 51% of the world's population does not belong to any of the three recognized religions in Egypt, what is the proportion of these world adherents that would be considered "to undermine the stability of the society" as stated by the Grand Mufti?
5) Who would make that judgement, i.e. a determination that a group of adherents is attempting "to undermine the stability of the society" and what criteria are to be used to make that determination?
6) Do his statements imply that Egyptian Muslims are free to convert to Christianity, Judaism or any other religions that are deemed not "to undermine the stability of the society" without any fear for their civil and human rights, or without a threat to their life?

I am sure that there are many other questions to ask, and I suspect that the readers would be eager to express their opinions and questions regarding this in the comment section of this post.

Egypt's Project for Law Against Discrimination

In the 17 July 2007 issue of Egypt's Nahdet Misr newspaper, an article was published describing Egypt's new project for a law that will prohibit discrimination between its citizens.

The article explains that Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) was charged by the government with the responsibility of proposing a law that would eliminate all forms of discrimination in Egypt, including "the official resolution of the situation of the Baha'is, the inclusion of Copts living abroad in their deliberations, and addressing the prevailing trend of torture."

The NCHR will hold a convention on "citizenship" next November, which will address the matter of equal opportunity for all Egyptian citizens. Its recommendations will be passed on to the Egyptian Parliament in its forthcoming session that will address the elimination of all forms of discrimination between the citizens of Egypt.

In preparation for the November convention, the Council will hold several workshops/symposia. The first of which will be held on 30 July to discuss several issues regarding the ratification of the status of citizenship in Egypt, as well as preparing a law on equal opportunity and the elimination of discrimination between citizens.

A second session will be held on 18 August that will examine the problems facing Egyptians living abroad. It will address several issues of importance affecting that segment of citizens.

A third workshop will focus on the apparent prevalent trend of torture in Egypt and compensation for victims of torture.

A fourth workshop will address the crisis of official identity documents for adherents of religions that are not recognized in Egypt as "divine." Muhammad Fa'eq, Secretary General of the Arabic Network for Human Rights and chairman of the civil and political rights committee of the Council stated that this does not imply the official recognition of these religions, but its main goal is to guarantee the rights of these citizens to acquire official papers and identity documents that would allow them to have a normal life. This will also include those who have changed their religion.

Fa'eq confirmed that the Council will use examples of laws from Australia and Sweden in its efforts to find "a radical solution" for the elimination of discrimination and the implementation equal opportunity. He also asserted that Copts living abroad will be provided with the opportunity to participate in this project.

This is a huge step forward for Egypt in its efforts to find "radical solutions" for the civil and human rights crises that have plagued the country recently. The intentions of this project clearly conform to the high standards expected from such a nation that is endowed with the world's most ancient great civilization. If Egypt embarks and remains on such a path, its future will definitely be brighter and it can become again a beacon of light for the rest to admire.

Boutros Ghali Concerned With Egypt's Image in the World

Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations and currently the President of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) was interviewed recently by Egypt's government-owned weekly magazine Al-Mussawar. The article was published in the Magazine's 6 July 2007 issue.

The interview revealed Ghali's deep concern for the status of the Baha'is in Egypt. He pointed out that Egypt recognizes three religions only: Islam, Christianity and Judaism; that 51% of the world's population does not belong to any of these three religions. This creates a huge problem for Egypt when confronted with matters concerning some citizens of Egypt, such as the Baha'is, other residents of Egypt such as the Chinese, and visitors in Egypt such as Japanese tourists. He stressed that Egypt's current position implies that it does not recognize the religions of 51% of the world's population.

He also indicated that Baha'is in particular face major challenges in Egypt because of their inability to obtain ID cards, and that he has been in close contact with three attorneys from California who are working with him on finding a solution to the Baha'i case. This has led to his negotiations with Egypt's Minister of Interior Habib El-Adly. One solution would be the elimination of religious classification from Egyptian ID cards.

He expressed his concern with Egypt's image in the outside world because of its treatment of Baha'is, whose "large numbers in America cannot be ignored." It appears that he was misquoted when the magazine reported that he said that there are "about 6 million Baha'is in Chicago."

This appears to be a significant development regarding the Baha'i case in Egypt. Ghali's views, however, have been the same since this crisis began approximately a year ago, and that opinion did not seem to influence the government's position thus far. Egypt's National Council for Human Rights is a consultative body appointed by the Egyptian government, but it is not empowered with decision-making authority. It advises the government and the President who subsequently have the final say in whatever recommendations are put forth by the Human Rights Council.

Defense of Baha'is: New Site Up, Running & Active

The authors of the new site named "The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights" have fixed the technical error with Internet Explorer (IE), which was encountered when clicking on any one of its links or comments tabs that caused the link to hang and not to respond. Partly because of that issue, apparently many readers were unable to make comments on the posts so they resorted to make comments on the parent site "MIDEAST YOUTH" instead, which thus far has 62 comments on the post announcing the initiation of the new site. In order to read these comments, which are quite interesting, you may click here.

Furthermore, in order to know more about the authors, the background and the motives behind this new site, you may want to read the FAQ section at this link.

In it, they write: "This network is composed of Arab and Iranian Muslim students and interfaith activists who do not approve of Baha’i human rights abuses within the Arab and Muslim world. We took it upon ourselves to do something about it, and we accept the risks and responsibilities behind setting up such a network to help and support our Baha’i brethren."

With the technical error now fixed, accessing the comment page is quite smooth, regardless of the type of browser one uses. The authors of the site are to be thanked for their efforts in maintaining and upgrading their site, which is now drawing heavy readership that includes strong support as well as some attacks and opposition from Islamist extremists. Their work demonstrates their unrelenting dedication to righteousness and justice, and it confirms their tenacity and courage in carrying out what they believe to be the right path.

Egypt: the Other Side of the Coin!

Yesterday, I received a comment on one of the videos posted on my YouTube site. The comment is about a news report by AlHurra Television regarding Egypt's National Council for Human Rights' symposium that examined the issue of ID cards for Egyptian Baha'is. The symposium was reported on last August in this blog and in this previous post.

The comment on YouTube, even though is insulting, can be seen to be quite amusing because it clearly betrays the sentiment of some extremists in the region and serves to expose the serious challenges facing Egyptian Baha'is in their homeland. For that I thanked the person making the comment!

The comment, submitted by a person named Abosooka, is quoted below in its entirety:

"Does tatooing a seen cross or wearing one, and writing "Christian" in religion-entry in an ID card differ?
Blow in ashes,plan evil,try to divide our nation, yet growth of non-muslim minorities centuries ago is an enough witness.
Game of Bahais and others,game of no-religion-entry in ID cards,use of weak faiths and disloyals, no rational beliver accepts that about muslim Egypt. Try in Iraq through "Horra" and your american servants ... Your end is the bottom of the sea!"

After reading this and comparing it to the material posted on the new site named The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights, one can clearly see what this new Muslim Network is up against and get to truly appreciate how courageous and righteous this group of enlightened Muslims is!

Twin Children Must Wait Longer Without Birth Cretificates

The case of the twin children Nancy and Emad got postponed until 4 September 2007 for a court decision on their fate. The question at hand is whether or not these Egyptian 14-year-old twins can obtain Egyptian birth certificates.

On 2 July 2004, Seeking Justice blog has posted a very well argued article regarding this case.

The children's Father, Dr. Raouf Hindy Halim is requesting, as a compromise, that in place of entering "Baha'i" in the religion section of the certificate, he would be content with entering "dashes" or leaving it blank.

Here is a piece of the "Seeking Justice" article:

"Several legal principles are at issue here. At the international level, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Egypt is a signatory, states in Article 15 that “everyone has a right to a nationality.” Moreover, Article 2 provides that this right is guaranteed irrespective of one’s religious belief. The denial of birth certificates to these children, solely on the basis of their family’s religious affiliation, effectively denies them of their Egyptian citizenship and nationality, and the rights that accompany it, all in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

One of the internationally-recognized human rights that these children are being denied because they cannot obtain birth certificates is the right of access to public education. More specifically, Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees that “everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages.” Without their birth certificates, Emad and Nancy are unable to attend public school, thus depriving them of a right that is clearly guaranteed to them through Egypt’s ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The enlightened principles regarding education contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are directly echoed in Egypt’s own Constitution, Article 18 of which states: “Education is a right guaranteed by the State.” More generally, Egypt’s Constitutional Proclamation states:

The dignity of every individual is a natural reflection of the dignity of his nation, for each individual is a cornerstone in the edifice of the homeland. This homeland derives its strength and prestige from the value of each individual, his activity and dignity.

Emad and Nancy were born and raised in Egypt. Their parents and grandparents are Egyptian. What clearer example of a cornerstone of the edifice of the homeland could there be? What effect might the erosion of this cornerstone, through the denial of access to basic rights of citizenship, including education, have on the development and ultimate dignity, strength, and prestige of Egyptian society? Let us hope that the Egyptian Court rectifies this injustice on July 3."

It appears that, rather than expect another postponement on 4 September, there will be indeed a decision rendered by the court on that date. Hopefully this court will be inspired by its duty and responsibility to do justice to innocent children.

Iran Examined by the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights

In its latest post today, The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights addresses the persecution of the Baha'is of Iran. In its post titled "Iran must end its mistreatment of Baha’is," the Network states the following:

"On behalf of all the other Muslims who allowed for this to happen, by either being silent or by directly contributing to this human rights abuse, we would like to apologize. The Baha’i Faith in many ways remains to be a forbidden one in our societies until we officially recognize it as a religion, which its members should be able to practice as a right to religious and individual freedom. We stand by our Baha’i brothers and sisters through this struggle, and demand that this right be recognized by our governments, our people, and our school systems. We would like to see the day that our friends can say “I am Baha’i” with pride without facing any consequences or discriminative behavior. Muslim activists within Iran in particular must help the Baha’is within the country take this much needed step forward."

The post is accompanied by a video of the 20/20 TV program, regarding the systematic persecution of the Baha'is of Iran, which was broadcast in 1983 on ABC television. It also links to a 110 page report compiled by the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.

To read the full article, please click here....

New Site: The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights

A new site, still in a draft form, has just been created. It is titled "The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights." It's authors are "Muslim interfaith activists who are deeply concerned with the treatment of Baha’is within the Middle East." The authors host the well-known MIDEAST YOUTH and the ME Faith websites. In this site's first post, it states the following:

Why this website?
June 29th, 2007 by Admin

Many of you are probably wondering why a Muslim network in defense of Baha’i rights exist. The answer is very simple - the best way to promote tolerance, human rights, religious freedom and respect is to rally for a cause that doesn’t necessarily affect you. When you strongly believe in a value, you should apply it to all people equally regardless of their faith, cultural differences, political stance or nationality. If within your country this doesn’t happen, as a loyal citizen you should actively enforce that such rights be met for the sake of a better and more productive society.

In this network, there are a few things that one should keep in mind:

. The authors are Muslim interfaith activists who are deeply concerned with the treatment of Baha’is within the Middle East.
. We don’t believe in the Baha’i faith. But there are minorities within our societies who are practicing Baha’is and for that, their rights are very rarely recognized, simply because of their religious differences.
. We created this site to demand that the rights of Baha’i minorities is recognized by not only people, but by law.
. We respectfully demand that all governments within the Arab and Muslim world allow Baha’i citizens to have equal opportunities in all fields and to practice their faith freely without facing any threats or discrimination whatsoever.
. We would like to make the general public of the region be aware of Baha’i human rights abuses in order to take effective action against it. We can only successfully achieve the goals of this website if we move our citizens towards real action, no matter what our religious differences are. We are all civilians in need of basic rights, and thus we should join forces regardless of our differences and unite in a celebration of our diversity. Join us in this worthy struggle and make our goals a greater possibility in the name of freedom.

These authors are to be recognized and appreciated for their courage, clarity of vision, audacity and intellectual honesty. They truly reflect the pure essence and nature of Islam.

On another note, this blog "Baha'i Faith in Egypt" celebrates its one year and one month anniversary. The first post, entitled "Independent Religion," was published on 1 June 2006. One might ask: why one year and one month? the answer is quite simple: as I am not much into celebrations, it was simply forgotten to commemorate the one year anniversary, but was reminded today that this landmark had already passed, hence the anniversary is remembered now....