Religious Freedom in Egypt: Intellectually Honest Analysis

One of the most respected senior editors of Egypt's leading newspaper, Al-Ahram, wrote a clear and well thought-out article about the pressing matter of religious freedom in Egypt. In its English version [Al-Ahram Weekly], the author, Mr. Gamal Nkrumah, calls this critical conflict--rightfully so--a "prickly question".

After a short introduction in which he refers to the work of human rights organizations in Egypt, he expounded on recent top-level seminar and a meeting in which these organizations, as well as other activists and officials, explored solutions to the controversy surrounding freedom of belief in the Egyptian society.

After a seminar held on 4 June 2008 under the auspices of the Middle East Freedom Forum, a meeting of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) dug deeper into finding solutions for the current obstacles to progress in the arena of religious freedom. In reference to this, Mr. Nkrumah stated: "The seminar, which touched a raw nerve in Egypt, was followed by a meeting on 5 June at the Egyptian National Council of Human Rights, headed by former United Nations secretary- general Boutros Ghali. Presided over by Coptic MP Georgette Qellini, it also focussed on the theme of religious freedom, especially the predicament of the Bahaais."

As has always been the case in the past, Mr. Nkrumah's editorial is thought-provoking and intellectually honest. One would be amiss if this recent article of his is not carefully studied and contemplated. Readers of this blog are strongly encouraged to examine it in the attached newspaper clipping or at this link.

Egypt: Extensive Media Reaction to the Verdict on Baha'i Rights

Several news outlets reported on the recent verdict that placed the Egyptian Baha'is in a position to obtain ID cards, birth certificates and other official documents.

Some reports were in Egyptian newspapers while others were in international newspapers and websites as shown in previous posts and in this one as well.

Several international articles were published in Arabic as linked to at the end of this post. Among the recent publications was an article written by Mr. Gamal Nkrumah in Al-Ahram Weekly, which is the English version of Egypt's daily semi-official newspaper. On three previous occasions, Mr. Nkrumah had courageously written on the Baha'i case as was posted here, here and here. His coverage has been objective, balanced, well-informed and accurate.

Below is the complete transcript of his current article:

A question of faith

Gamal Nkrumah sounds out rights activists' reactions to a new court ruling this week that no longer denies Bahaais essential identity documents
_____________________

Bahaai community in Egypt, local and international human rights organisations warmly welcomed an Administrative Court ruling this Tuesday (29 January), which reversed the official state policy of denying essential identity documents to Egyptians who do not wish to be identified in official documents as adherents of the three Monotheistic religions recognised by the state.

Bahaai Egyptians, leading a legal battle over the past few years to be certified as Bahaais on official documents, won a first step court ruling to that effect in April 2006. The 2006 court ruling, however, was overturned later by the Supreme Administrative Court.

This week's new sentence seems to meet the Bahaais' demand half way, since while rejecting the demand that the Bahaai faith is a religion, it allowed those who do not wish to be identified as followers of Islam, Christianity or Judaism to have official documents in which the religion category would either be filled by a "hyphen" or the word "without".

"This is not just a victory for the Bahaai community of Egypt, but it is also a victory for all those Egyptians who do not adhere to the three monotheistic religions," Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told Al-Ahram Weekly. "For the first time in contemporary Egyptian history, an individual who professes Hinduism or Buddhism, or even those wishing to call themselves non-believers, could enjoy full citizenship rights. That in itself is a great advance of human rights and will tremendously enhance the country's human rights record," Bahgat explains.

Basma Moussa, a leader and spokeswoman of the Bahaai community of Egypt, concurs. She was ecstatic. "This ruling is what we have been struggling to achieve for years. At last our prayers have been answered. We are extremely grateful that justice has been served and that finally we can lead normal lives as Egyptian citizens," Moussa says.

Labib Iskandar, a leading Egyptian Bahaai, and a professor of engineering at Cairo University laments that, "we used to move about without personal identification cards. That is a criminal offence in Egypt. We could be stopped by police at any moment, anywhere and asked for our ID."

"Inability to produce an ID card entails a five-year prison sentence," Moussa, a dentist and an assistant lecturer at Cairo University says. "The civil status law makes it obligatory for every Egyptian citizen to carry on his or her personal ID card".

"These documents are essential to obtain education and employment, register births, immunise children, and conduct basic transactions such as opening a bank account, obtaining a driver's licence, or collecting a pension," Bahgat extrapolates.

"A previous ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court in December 2006 had upheld the state policy of refusing to recognise the religious affiliation of Bahaais in official documents, arguing that such recognition would violate public order and Sharia [Islamic law] requirements," Bahgat explains.

The December 2006 ruling prompted Bahaai Egyptians to file two other lawsuits -- the subject of Tuesday's ruling -- requesting documents that do not list any religious affiliation. "The new cases, filed by EIPR lawyers, argued that forcing Bahaais to identify falsely as Muslim or Christian violated their rights to freedom of conviction, privacy, equality and full citizenship rights," Bahgat notes.

Bahaais began to experience grave difficulties beginning in 1995, when the authorities insisted that all Egyptians had to acquire or replace personal documents with computerised ones from the central Civil Registry Office in the Ministry of Interior.

It is hoped that this week's ruling would finally allow Bahaai Egyptians to obtain birth certificates and computerised identity cards leaving the religious category void.

Bahgat, Iskandar and Moussa hope that the state would implement the ruling as soon as possible. "We urge the government to implement the decision without delay, and not to appeal this clear verdict of the court," Bahgat says.

Other articles can be viewed at the following sites:

Radio Netherlands Worldwide (Arabic): حرية العقيدة في مصر: أحكام متباينة

BBC (Arabic): هل يحق للدولة الاعتراف بديانات دون أخرى؟

US Copts (Arabic): تغطية الفضائيات المصرية للحكم بترك خانة الديانة فارغة للبهائيين

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights "EIPR" (Arabic):
مصر: القضاء يبطل حرمان البهائيين من الوثائق الرسمية
على الحكومة أن تمتثل لتطبيق الحكم دون إبطاء