Would Egypt's New President Enforce Equal Rights and Full Integration for All Minorities?
According to the Guardian's 25 June 2012 report from the Associated Press, the following was stated:
The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi proclaimed himself a leader "for all Egyptians", after being declared the winner of Egypt's first free presidential election on Sunday.
Speaking on Egyptian television late on Sunday evening, Morsi vowed to "protect the rights of women and children", as well as Christians and Muslims alike.
"I tell everybody in this memorable day that because of your choice, your will and after God's favour, I am a president for all Egyptians," the 60-year-old engineer and professor said in his speech.
Morsi sought to reach out to the activists by paying tribute to the nearly 900 protesters killed in the uprising. "I wouldn't have been here between your hands as the first elected president without … the blood, the tears and sacrifices of the martyrs," he said.
The president-elect declared he had a "message of peace" and that he would respect all international agreements. He did not mention Israel but the remark seemed to be a reassuring indication that he would respect the peace treaty with the country.One of Egypt's small religious minorities, the Baha'is, remain without their citizenship rights. They are poorly treated by the authorities. They are discriminated against in education and employment, and to this day, many of them remain without identity documents as described earlier in this blog.
Thus, if President Morsi is committed indeed to social justice, equality and the protection of "citizens' rights," as "a president for all Egyptians," only his actions would confirm his words and his proclamations, and there are plentiful opportunities for him to fulfill his promises. It is time for all Egyptian minorities to be fully integrated into their society and to receive their overdue full citizenship rights. They have honorably served their homeland and their fellow citizens for so long, and in return they received nothing but ridicule and repression.
When Islamists came to Power in Iran they too had a similar message of equality and justice for all. It is foolhardy to trust the word of a Muslim, any Muslim. They lie like their prophet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the first statement of Anonymous, but disagree with the last two statements. The great majority of Muslims are trustworthy. Islam and Muslims contributed so much to civilization. Political Islam is so divorced from Islam.
ReplyDeleteI want to believe Mohamed Morsi.
Will he be true to his vows?
Will he restore the civil rights of Egyptian Baha'is that were almost entirely lost in the decade preceding the Egyptian revolution?
I dream of a country that is united in protecting the human rights of every Egyptian and treats Egyptians equally regardless of their religious beliefs or gender. This would bring stability, dignity, and prosperity to a country yearning for a brighter future.
I am a pessimist when it comes to any of the middle-east countries in their treatment of minorities and their basic human rights. I cannot think of any single country in the middle east that respects Human Rights as it truly means. I pray that the Baha'is of Egypt get some releif from decades of abuse and mistreatment by the Egyptian authorities, and the general public. However, I dont see it coming through Mohamed Morsi or the Muslim brotherhood and the Salafists. Most politicians offer you the world on their first few speeches. Once in power, they start showing their true agenda. May Egypt never become another Iran. Only time will prove.
ReplyDeleteVafa-Canada
I guess only time will tell...it is the balance between words and action! Here is the real opportunity for action...you judge a nation by the way it treats its weakest and most vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteIf the Egyptians do not get it right, I dont think any of the other "Arab Spring" countries will get it right. Every one of the revelutions has been full of violence and bloodshed. None of them seem to have made life better for the average citizen. This comment goes for other countries in the region as well (Iran, Iraq, Lebenon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia). It is one very sad region as far as basic Human Rights goes.
ReplyDeleteVafa-Canada
The label "Arab Spring" was way premature and naive...the media, and every government spokesperson, particularly in the west, latched on it without true understanding of the intricacies of the region, the history, the culture, the challenges, the motives, the politics and the intentions of these movements. So-called revolutions, one after the other, have been high-jacked and/or undermined by radical Islamist movements everywhere...then the west calls it "Arab Spring"!?
ReplyDeleteI am thinking that what Egypt and the other "Arab Spring" countries (and perhaps the Middle East generally) need is due consideration of plurality and liberality. But the people don't know how to find the path to it, because they see only a dichotomous choice: either a return to some conceptualization of Islamic principles (and who gets to define what those are?); or a turn to western, secular commercialism. What the people should be asking themselves is, "What are the other options?" It requires dialogue where everyone has a voice in the discussion.
ReplyDeletePerhaps some middle way can be found that would allow sect members to receive ID cards with a blank in the "religion" space. (It's a bit much to expect the Egyptian government to recognize Bahai-ism as equal to the major religions.)
ReplyDeleteThe Red Cross went through this when American Jews started demanding that the "Red Shield of David" be recognized as equal to the Red Cross and Red Crescent. Rather than allow a million competing symbols (if every religion / culture had its own symbol), they added a Red Diamond symbol as a third, neutral alternative.
The courts & the Ministry of Interior had already ruled that "dashes" can be entered instead of religious identity for Baha'is in Egypt, but the civil authorities have not been cooperative in implementing the ruling uniformly and have been obstructive and uncooperative.
DeleteBTW, be very careful in using the term "sect". Who is to say what is a "sect" and what is a "religion", and who is to say what is a "major religion" and what is not. These words and terms can be very offensive and can go both ways...it also depends on where in the world you are, what culture you belong to, and what civilization you live in. Egypt, right now, does not exactly represent the perfect example of acceptance, moderation or even tolerance of anything other than what you already know, which is not worth mentioning here!
DeleteI am keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings that are unfold moment by moment.
ReplyDeleteIt would be illogical to assume that the rights of religious minorities will be respected UNLESS the world continues to pay attention to events that are happening in Egypt...
The UN and the rest of the free world including the United States, England et al cannot be fooled again ...
As with everything else we must be vigilant and take it one day at a time...
It seems like there's some very bold generalizations going on in the comments here so I'll just like to say this: Mohamed Morsi is a politician. What do politicians do to get the people's attention? Make open ended promises that may or may not be fulfilled. With that said, keep his religion out of this. There are many respectable muslims out there who don't support the ill-treatment of minorities. I'm part of a small minority reformist islamic sect myself who supports human rights, secularism, etc. And we usually have to stay silent ourselves out of fear of persecution.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to read your comment and know that there those who think and believe like you. Perhaps it is time not to be silent anymore!
DeleteWe do try. Those of us in the west generally have an easier time doing so.
DeleteHuman rights in Egypt seem to be in the media spotlight in recent years with the Egyptian revolution and the horrendous treatment of protesters at the hands of the regime of Hosni Mubarak, abductions, secret torture chambers, beatings, robbery, assaults on women and minors by select corrupt individuals that where trusted in a position of authority where all a common experience by the population up and down the country for many many years and suffering that type of tyranny it is any wonder the people would see any type of human rights in Egypt.
ReplyDeleteThis true story of one man's struggle and fight for justice in the in year 2000. The man talking in this video is the real victim and not replaced by an actor's voice.
On the 18/6/2000 Mr Atef Maustafa Emara was taken by police officers from his home in the middle of the night from the home where he lived with his wife and two children and forced and threatened to sign over his property. This is Mr Emara's full account of the events that changed his and his family's life forever...
This is his story and his fight for justice for the past 12 years and his belief that one day human rights in Egypt would be experienced by the many instead of the few....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdlG_arUscQ
Very sad and distressing account of your ordeal!
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