Egypt's Baha'is: World Press Outcry for Humanity

(AP photos x 2: M. Al-Sehety)

This, soon to expire, tarnished ID Card may be the only proof this man has left to document his identity in a traditionally restrictive society. When it expires by the end of this year, this man will be living in the shadows, in constant fear for his family and himself. Today, an AP story syndicated by Mariam Fam hit the media across the globe. To name a few, it spread from Minneapolis to Monterey, from Syracuse to St. Louis, from Forbes to the Washington Post, and from Yahoo to ABC International.

This touching human story will stroke a very tender chord in the hearts of those who have the courage to read it. It describes the struggle of an Egyptian Baha'i and his family in their attempt to survive in a controlled society, without proper official identity documents. As this has been a developing story, previous posts had clearly described the details of this serious issue. In short, Egyptian Baha'is are deprived of obtaining Government-issued ID cards as well as all other official documents, including death certificates, unless they recant their religion and declare one of only three choices given to them, namely: Muslim, Christian or Jewish.

This man, his wife and their two sons were born in Egypt and of Egyptian ancestry. They have been law abiding, and exemplary citizens, who have served their country just like other productive and respected members of society. Based on the standards of the Egyptian society, this highly intelligent and accomplished man has, in spite of a lifelong discrimination and persecution, managed to reach one of the most respected positions in the country. He is currently a full Professor at the Faculty of Engineering in Egypt's prestigious Cairo University, where he has been for several decades educating thousands of Egyptian students.

This man has repeatedly stated during several interviews, "I am an Egyptian. I was born in Egypt...and I would not leave Egypt," but what he did not say is more alarming than what was said: in Egypt a person's religion, in most cases, is easily recognizable by the individual's name. This man's name is Labib Iskandar [Alexander] Hanna, in Egypt it is definitely a name of Christian origin--a minority population in Egypt. As it is not unusual in that society, those who do not know him will discriminate against him because they assume that he is a Christian, and those who know him will discriminate against him because they are aware that he is a Baha'i!

Despite all his suffering, he still made that statement, quoted above, "I am an Egyptian. I was born in Egypt...and I would not leave Egypt." We should be all in awe of this man's courage and nobility of character--at least in part because of what he did not say!

Why should any society in today's world systematically discriminate against such people? How, in God's name, could they be a threat to anyone? The accusations against the Baha'is in Egypt have been always entirely false and baseless. Any Egyptian with a sense of understanding and fairness, as we had seen recently, recognizes the abhorrent treatment the Baha'is have been subjected to in Egypt. Many more voices must cry out for justice!

In order to read what this man has said, you may click here.