Egypt 2008: US Releases its Annual Human Rights Report

The condition of the Baha'is of Egypt was extensively covered again in the annual report of the US State Department on human rights around the world.

The report, released on 11 March 2008, covers developments occurring in the previous year.

The following sections were specific to the condition of the Baha'is of Egypt.

Under the section on "Freedom of Religion" the report stated:

The constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the government restricted the exercise of these rights. According to the constitution, Islam is the official state religion and Shari'a (Islamic law) 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 worshiped without harassment and maintained links with coreligionists in other countries. Members of religions that are not recognized by the government, particularly the Baha'i Faith, experienced personal and collective hardship.

Approximately 90 percent of citizens are Sunni Muslims; less than 1 percent are Shi'a Muslims. 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. 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 law bans Baha'i institutions and community activities and stripped Baha'is of legal recognition. The government continued to deny civil documents, including ID cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses, to members of the Baha'i community. The MOI requires identity card applicants to self-identify as Jew, Christian, or Muslim. As a result, Baha'is face great difficulties in conducting civil transactions, including registering births, marriages and deaths, obtaining passports, enrolling children in school, opening bank accounts, and obtaining driver's licenses. During the year, Baha'is and members of other religious groups were compelled either to misrepresent themselves as Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or go without valid identity documents. Many Baha'is chose the latter course.

By September 30, all citizens had to obtain new computer identification cards or risk detention; however, the government did not enforce this requirement. In December 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 MOI successfully 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 issued passports, which do not indicate the holder's religion, for Baha'i citizens.



In February the EIPR filed a lawsuit on behalf of Hosni Hussein Abdel-Massih, 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. Students must produce a military draft postponement to complete their university education without interruption; however, one cannot obtain a military draft number without being issued a national ID number and a national ID card. The case was pending at year's end.

On September 10, the NCHR organized a workshop to discuss the issue of religious identity on ID cards. General Aly Abdel Mawla, Head of General Administration for Legal Affairs in the MOI, opposed the suggestion that the government allow the religion field to be left blank, asserting that the policy of requiring the indication of religious affiliation aims to protect freedom of religion.

In October Raouf Hindi Halim, a Baha'i convert, filed suit against the government to issue birth certificates for his twin daughters with the religion field left blank or to write (Baha'i) in the field. The case was postponed several times since it was first brought before the administrative court in 2004. Halim obtained birth certificates for the children when they were born in 1993 which recognized their Baha'i religious affiliation, but new certificates were mandatory, and the children were unable to enroll in public schools without them. The case remained pending at year's end.

Under "Societal Abuses and Discrimination" the report stated:

Societal religious discrimination and sectarian tension continued during the year. Tradition and some aspects of the law discriminated against religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha'is.

The constitution provides for equal public rights and duties without discrimination based on religion or creed, and in general the government upheld these protections; however, government discrimination against non-Muslims existed.

On March 27, voters approved 34 constitutional amendments with unclear implications for religious freedom. The amended Article 1 of the constitution states that the country's political system is based on the principle of citizenship. Government supporters argued that these changes would separate religion from politics. However, some critics argued that the amendments are incompatible with Article 2, which continues to state that Shari'a is the basis for legislation.

Decree-263 and the Persecution of Egyptian Baha'is (Part-2)

This series on Decree 263 and its impact on the rights of the Baha'is of Egypt began in this previous post. The entire report is cited from a publication by the Baha'i International Community on the persecution of this religious minority in Egypt. Pictures are added by the author of this blog.

The Decree and International Law

By any moral standard, the Decree is unfair and unjust. The principles of the Bahá'í Faith stress obedience to duly constituted governments, and the Bahá'ís of Egypt, in keeping with the teachings of their Faith, do not and have never become involved in partisan politics. They are committed to non-violence. They desire only to be recognized as full citizens of their country, actively promoting the progress and advancement of Egyptian society at large. The persecution and discrimination they face comes only because of their religious beliefs.

Baha'is of Alexandria, Egypt (circa 1940)

In theory, the Egyptian Constitution upholds freedom of religious belief. However, The Egyptian Supreme Court issued a decision in 1975 that upholds the Decree. The Court characterized the Bahá'í belief system as "evil," immoral, and a threat to public order. As the "Constitution guarantees the freedom of practice only to those religions recognized by Islam, i.e., Judaism and Christianity," the Court concluded that: "Belief in the Bahá'í Faith is considered apostasy. Therefore, the practice of that Faith is against Public Order, which is essentially based on Islamic Law (Shariah)."

However, religious discrimination such as that faced by the Bahá'ís of Egypt is clearly counter to international human rights treaties and covenants to which Egypt is a party. Specifically, Egypt was one of 48 members of the United Nations that in 1948 jointly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which recognizes that "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion," including the right "to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance," either alone or as a community.

Moreover, Egypt in 1982 ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an international treaty that further codifies the rights outlined in the UDHR. The Covenant even more clearly spells out the right to freedom of religion, stating in Article 18 that:

1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to

3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

While Egyptian Government officials have told the United Nations that the "public order" provision of Article 18 applies in their refusal to recognize the Bahá'í Faith as a legitimate religion, international human rights experts have rejected Egypt's argument and stated that Article 18 clearly applies to Egypt in the case of the Bahá'ís.

Egyptian delegation to signing of Universal Declaration of Human rights, San Francisco, USA (10 December 1948)

In 1993, for example, the UN Human Rights Committee that oversees implementation of the Covenant, said this about Egypt's compliance under the treaty in relation to Bahá'ís:

"[T]he Committee is worried about restrictive legal provisions existing in Egypt with regard to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, assembly and association. Restrictions not in conformity with article 18 of the Covenant regarding various religious communities or sects, such as Bahá'ís, are a matter of particular concern."

The Bahá'í Faith is, of course, widely recognized as an independent world religion, clearly falling under the terms of the Covenant. And even if Egyptian statements that the Faith is an apostasy were to be accepted, it would nevertheless be no excuse under the framework of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Through the years, Bahá'ís have fought for their rights in the courts — with no success. They have also sought to deliver corrective statements to the press, virtually none of which have been published. Representatives of the Bahá'í International Community have also sought redress for their co-religionists in Egypt at various international forums. Bahá'ís can only guess at the reasons for the Government's unresponsiveness.

Some of the fatwas also wrongly connect the Faith with Zionism and/or colonialism — buzzwords that seem calculated to incite hatred.

To be continued....

Annual Baha'i Fast is Now

Bahá'í Prayer for the Fast in Arabic, chanted by the youth of Shiraz. Please click on the player above or here....

For more information on the fast, please click here....

Decree-263 and the Persecution of Egyptian Baha'is (Part-1)

The Baha'is of Egypt were enjoying a relative degree of freedom until 1960 when the late president Gamal Abdel Nasser issued Decree 263 that brought much suffering to them in the years to come. The following account, cited from the Baha'i International Community report, describes in full details the effects, consequences and implications of Decree-263. The photographs are added by the author of this blog.

President Nasser (circa 1960)

History of the Persecution of the Bahá’ís of Egypt

Although it faced periodic episodes of religious discrimination through the early half of the 20th century, the Bahá'í community of Egypt's greatest challenge came in 1960, when President Gamal Abdul Nasser issued a decree dissolving all Bahá'í assemblies, banning Bahá'í activities, and confiscating all Bahá'í properties. The Decree remains in effect and is the underlying source of the Bahá'í community's oppression today.

Designated as Presidential Decree 263, the proclamation came without warning or explanation. In just six short paragraphs, issued on 19 July 1960, President Nasser effectively shut down the Bahá'í Faith as an organized religion in Egypt.

"All Bahá'í Assemblies and Centers existing in the two regions of the Republic are hereby dissolved, and their activities suspended," states the opening paragraph of Decree 263/1960. "Individuals, bodies and institutions are forbidden to engage in any activity, as was conducted by these Assemblies and Centers."

The Decree further stated that all "properties and possessions" of Bahá'í Assemblies and Centers would be taken over by the Ministry of the Interior. And, indeed, all Bahá'í properties — including the community's national headquarters building, its libraries and its cemeteries — as well as all Bahá'í funds and assets were soon confiscated. These assets have not been returned to this day. Some important properties, such as some 17,000 square meters of land along the Nile that Bahá'ís had purchased for a future House of Worship, were sold at public auction. Other confiscated Bahá'í properties were turned over to the Islamic Association for Teaching the Qur'an.

Children in Ismailia Baha'i Centre, Egypt (circa 1950)

The Decree further made Bahá'í activities to be criminal offenses, punishable by a minimum imprisonment of six months and/or a fine of 100 to 1,000 Egyptian pounds.

No official reason was ever given for the Decree, and to this day the Bahá'í community of Egypt can only speculate about the Government's motivations. Recent accounts in the Egyptian press have connected the ban with old and entirely false accusations, which are also commonly given in Iran to justify the persecution of Bahá'ís there, that Bahá'ís are somehow spies for Israel — an accusation that arises because the Bahá'í World Centre is located in Haifa, Israel. A more likely answer is simply the intolerance that fundamentalist Muslims have for the Bahá'í Faith because of their belief that Muhammad is the "Seal of the Prophets" and no religion can therefore follow Islam.

Effects of the Decree

The Government initially promised that individuals would remain free to practice their religion. In keeping with the Bahá'í principle of obedience to government, the Bahá'ís of Egypt duly disbanded their institutions immediately. The Faith's members shifted to a footing that emphasized quiet worship by individuals and families, with limited social and educational activities focused on internal development.

Unfortunately, Bahá'ís in Egypt have nevertheless faced episodes of harsh persecution, along with continuous restrictions on their personal, religious and social activities.

Since 1960, groups of Bahá'ís have been imprisoned on charges related to the Decree and solely because of their religious convictions at least seven times. These episodes include:

• In May 1965, 39 Bahá'ís were arrested and accused of having re-established the Bahá'í administration, and of having held meetings in their homes to which Muslims were invited for the purpose of teaching them the Faith. The court trial continued until 10 November 1977, when the case was thrown out of court.

• In June 1967, immediately after the armed conflict between Egypt and Israel, a number of Bahá'ís were held in detention camps for about six months. They were detained without charges or explanation. During their incarceration, they were physically abused, inadequately fed, and prevented from sleeping.

• In February 1985, 41 Bahá'ís were arrested on the charge of running a group aimed at resisting the basic principles of the State. A subsequent trial generated an intense and widespread campaign in the Egyptian press, featuring more than 200 newspaper articles, that denounced the Bahá'í Faith as an apostasy whose members deserved the death penalty.

• In May 1987, the courts sentenced the Bahá'ís to three years imprisonment with labor. The verdict aroused protest in Western circles, and the decision was overturned on appeal, with all 41 Bahá'ís being ultimately acquitted.

• In March 1997, three Bahá'ís in Al Ghardaqa were arrested. They were questioned directly about Bahá'í belief and teachings. After ten days, they were released without explanation.

• In January 2001, 16 Bahá'ís in Shawraniya near Sohag were arrested in January 2001, on the accusation of "immorality," according to the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram. The 16 were held for nearly nine months at a Cairo prison but all were ultimately released without charge or explanation.

A visit to the Baha'i cemetery, Cairo, Egypt (circa 1950)

Both the arbitrary restrictions and the incidents of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment have created a climate of fear that effectively suppresses the Bahá'í community. Moreover, Egyptian legal decisions upheld against the Bahá'ís over the years have reduced them to second-class citizens in matters of family, education, and employment.

Bahá'í marriages are not legally recognized in Egypt, a fact that affects a whole range of family issues. Individuals have no recourse on inheritance, pension, alimony, child maintenance, and divorce. Unrecognized marriage is regarded as cohabitation, equivalent with adultery in Middle Eastern countries like Egypt, and children are stigmatized as illegitimate.

Freedom of worship, likewise, is severely restricted. The Egyptian courts have consistently interpreted Decree 263 as a general ban even on any type of community worship or observance by Bahá'ís, as well as a ban on teaching other people about the Bahá'í Faith.

On 27 April 1967, for example, the court of first instance of Al-Zaytoun issued a judgment that even organizing studies based on Bahá'í books or the exchange of Bahá'í materials could be punishable by the Decree.

Bahá'ís have also faced discrimination in education and employment. In 1983, for example, a young Bahá'í was expelled from the University of Alexandria because he insisted on listing his religious affiliation as Bahá'í.

To be continued....

Is the World Ready for a Repeat?

Below are: 1) anti-semitic graffiti on a shop in Berlin, Germany in 1933, 2) & 3) anti-Baha'i graffiti in Isfahan, Iran in 2008, stating "death to baha'ism."
Credit (1): Holocaust Memorial Museum
Credit (2) & (3): Baha'i Blogfa

Ongoing Dialogue: Status of the Baha'i Religion in Egypt

Egyptian and Middle Eastern media continue to examine the recent court verdicts that permitted some of the Baha'is of Egypt to obtain ID cards and birth certificates. They also address the general status of the Baha'is of Egypt as a religious minority in a modern society. The scope of these articles extends beyond the mere description of the court ruling itself, but rather carefully examines other essential elements regarding Egypt's need to come to terms with the fact that the Baha'i religion is one of the established religions worldwide.

For example, these articles are now addressing the roots of the current crisis, dating back to Nasser's Presidential Decree (263) of 1960 that outlawed the Baha'i religion in Egypt, confiscated all Baha'i properties, dissolved Baha'i institutions and arrested many leading Baha'is. The question of the official recognition of the Baha'i religion in Egypt is being openly discussed and arguments in its favor are put forward.

One of the headlines even dares to go as far as stating that "the problem with the Baha'is is the need to recognize them and not necessarily the implied acceptance of their beliefs."

Some of the articles attached to this post (Qattar's Al-Raayah-page 31 & Egypt's Al-Qaherra) are currently being translated and will be hopefully posted again in the near future.

The 29 January 2008 court ruling allowed only those Baha'is who had previously held paper ID cards or birth certificates stating that they were Baha'is to obtain the newly established national ID number and identification documents (with no religion entered), thus permitting them to enjoy the rights of citizenship owed to them. However, those Baha'is who do not hold an old ID card or birth certificate, or if the documents held had wrongly stated other than their religion in the specified field, will continue to have no solution to their dilemma. That is if they want to obtain any of these official documents, they would be either forced to lie (in violation of the law itself) on the application form about their true religion and enter one of the three approved religions (Islam Christianity or Judaism) or be left without identity.

Clearly, as has been repeatedly proposed by Egypt's--government appointed--National Council for Human Rights, the ultimate solution to this ongoing crisis is the complete elimination of the field of religion from all identity documents, as is the case in several other (mostly Muslim) countries in the region and as in many other parts of the world.

Even though the recent verdict is limited in scope, it must be said that: 1) the Baha'is of Egypt are indeed pleased with this new development, 2) they hope that Egypt's government continues to work towards finding a satisfactory solution that would benefit all the Baha'is--and other religious minorities--of Egypt and not only a fraction of their population, 3) they are grateful to all those activists, human rights workers, journalists, bloggers, thinkers, scholars, attorneys, official figures and many others who have courageously supported them and defended their rights, and 4) the Baha'is of Egypt continue to analyze and study the full text of the recent two court verdicts--which are quite expansive and complex--in order for them to act on the implementation of their directives as well as to determine further necessary action in their quest for their full rights.

For example, another pressing and critical matter that must be addressed and resolved soon is that Baha'i marriage certificates remain unrecognized in Egypt, thus married Baha'i couples living in Egypt are considered to be living in concubinage and their children are considered by the authorities as illegitimate.

The Economist Examines Egypt's Emerging Religious Freedom

The Economist, a weekly leading British newspaper with extensive worldwide readership has published yesterday an article about the recent developments affecting the pressing issue of religious freedom in Egypt.

It focused on the recent court rulings regarding the Baha'is of Egypt as well as Egyptian citizens who had converted from Islam to Christianity. Both religious minorities have been facing enormous barriers to their civil rights prior to these recent court verdicts that allowed them to be recognized as citizens, even though in the case of the Baha'is the ruling fell short of recognizing the legitimacy of their religion in Egypt.

In view of the recent opinion of Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice, it should be clearly pointed out that the Baha'i religion is recognized globally as an independent divinely-ordained religion. Additionally, the Baha'i International Community (BIC) is permanently represented in the United Nations along with other prominent non-governmental organizations (NGO). The BIC's new website can be linked to here.

As to the ruling affecting Egyptian Christians, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court has just ruled that Egyptians who were initially Christian who, for one reason or another, had converted or were forced to convert to Islam, and who want to return to Christianity can do so freely and are now allowed to obtain identity documents verifying their current legal status.

The full article can be accessed on Economist.com at this link.

The article in the Economist which was published on 14 February 2008 and posted on the newspaper's website from its print edition carries the following title:

Egypt
A bit more religious freedom
Apostasy need not necessarily be punished by death

The report begins with the following paragraph:
TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, Egypt revised its secular constitution to enshrine Muslim sharia as “the principal source of legislation”. To most citizens, most of the time, that seeming contradiction—between secularism and religion—has not made much difference. Nine in ten Egyptians are Sunni Muslims and expect Islam to govern such things as marriage, divorce and inheritance. Nearly all the rest profess Christianity or Judaism, faiths recognised and protected in Islam. But to the small minority who embrace other faiths, or who have tried to leave Islam, it has, until lately, made an increasingly troubling difference.

It then continues with:
Members of Egypt's 2,000-strong Bahai community, for instance, have found they cannot state their religion on the national identity cards that all Egyptians are obliged to produce to secure such things as driver's licences, bank accounts, social insurance and state schooling. Hundreds of Coptic Christians who have converted to Islam, often to escape the Orthodox sect's ban on divorce, find they cannot revert to their original faith. In some cases, children raised as Christians have discovered that, because a divorced parent converted to Islam, they too have become officially Muslim, and cannot claim otherwise.

Such restrictions on religious freedom are not directly a product of sharia, say human-rights campaigners, but rather of rigid interpretations of Islamic law by over-zealous officials. In their strict view, Bahai belief cannot be recognised as a legitimate faith, since it arose in the 19th century, long after Islam staked its claim to be the final revelation in a chain of prophecies beginning with Adam. Likewise, they brand any attempt to leave Islam, whatever the circumstances, as a form of apostasy, punishable by death.

And it concludes with:
But such views have lately been challenged. Last year Ali Gomaa, the Grand Mufti, who is the government's highest religious adviser, declared that nowhere in Islam's sacred texts did it say that apostasy need be punished in the present rather than by God in the afterlife. In the past month, Egyptian courts have issued two rulings that, while restricted in scope, should ease some bothersome strictures. Bahais may now leave the space for religion on their identity cards blank. Twelve former Christians won a lawsuit and may now return to their original faith, on condition that their identity documents note their previous adherence to Islam.

Small steps, perhaps, but they point the way towards freedom of choice and citizenship based on equal rights rather than membership of a privileged religion.

Iran's Draft Penal Code: A Clear Danger to Human Rights

The Assyrian International News Agency has recently posted a report on Iran's draft penal code intended to entirely delegitimize its Baha'i population. Baha'is in Iran are the largest religious minority.

The report is titled: Iran Draft Law Proposes Death Penalty for Religious Conversion

It begins with the following introduction:

Washington -- The Iranian Parliament is reviewing a draft penal code that for the first time in Iranian history legislates the death penalty for apostasy. The draft clearly violates Iran's commitments under the International Covenants on Human Rights, to which the State is party. Read more here....

Additionally, the European Union has just released the following declaration addressing the current critical situation of the large Baha'i population of Iran:

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the deteriorating situation of the religious minority Baha’i in Iran

The EU expresses its serious concern at the worsening situation of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, in particular to the plight of the Baha’i. According to reliable reports, the Iranian Judiciary confirmed that 54 Baha’is were sentenced by a court in Shiraz for ‘propaganda against the regime’. Three of the convicted Baha’is were sentenced to four years in prison, while 51 were given one year suspended prison terms.

The EU is concerned about the ongoing systematic discrimination and harassment of Baha'is in Iran, including the expulsion of university and high school students, restrictions on employment and anti-Baha'i propaganda campaigns in the Iranian media.

The EU wishes to express its firm opposition to all forms of discrimination, in particular regarding freedom of religion. In this context, the EU urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to release the Baha’i prisoners and stop prosecuting members of the Baha’i minority due to their belief and practice of the Baha'i Faith.

The Candidate Countries Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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

Egypt: Television Coverage of Verdict Allowing Baha'is ID Cards

The following is some of the television news coverage on 29 January 2008 immediately after the announcement of the verdict by Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice which allowed the Baha'is to obtain birth certificates and ID cards without forcing them to enter one of the three recognized religions in Egypt (Islam, Christianity & Judaism).

With this verdict, as one can watch the judge explaining in the courtroom, the Baha'is cannot enter their religion either, but can leave that section of official documents vacant, enter a dash (-) or enter "other." Therefore Baha'is can obtain ID cards and other official documents without being forced to lie about their religious affiliation. Consequently, Baha'is in Egypt will be in a position to enjoy all their citizenship rights such as employment, health care and education.

Without ID cards, Egyptian citizens would face "civic death," thus the government has no options but to fulfill its obligations to its own citizens by allowing them to be identified.

The contemplated appeal by the Ministry of Interior would be entirely pointless and would not serve any purpose but to disrupt "public order" and to continue to isolate and disfranchise a group of law-abiding Egyptian citizens, to whom the Ministry has the obligation and the charge to protect. Before deciding on such ill-advised appeal, the Ministry of Interior must think first of what other options would it have to solve this complicated crisis.

First video: Cairo's Dream-2 Channel


Second Video: Cairo's Al-Muhawar Channel

While Al-Azhar Supports Egypt's Court Ruling on Baha'is, Ministry of Interior Contemplates Appeal!

In a statement published in today's (31 January 2008) edition of Cairo's Rose al-Yousef newspaper, Al-Azhar, represented by its Islamic Research Council, expressed its support of the 29 January court ruling that allowed the two Baha'i litigants to be issued birth certificates and ID cards with no religious classification entered in the required section of these documents.

The statement indicated that the members of the council affirmed that the Administrative Court ruling allowing these Baha'is to leave the religion section vacant or to enter the word "other" does not violate the prior decision of the Islamic Research Council in which it did not recognize the Baha'i Faith.

The article further explains, "Member of the Council, Dr. Muhammad El-Shahaat El-Gendy, clarified that the ruling is in agreement with the decision of the Islamic Research Council because the ruling did not recognize the Baha'i Faith as a congregation, a societal, political or religious entity."

On the other hand, the article also reports that Dr. Hamed Sad'diq, a professor in the National Centre for Research [?], has filed an argument with Cairo's Administrative Court requesting the annulment of the court's verdict based on his opinion that "the Baha'i Faith is not recognized in Egypt as one of the three divine religions." He then went on with the usual falsehood and arguments being propagated by Egypt's extremists regarding their views of the Baha'i Faith. It is neither clear who this person is nor whom, exactly, he speaks for!

Another article in today's edition of Al-Masry Al-Youm reported on the verdict and that it has been welcomed and hailed by Human Rights Watch, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Baha'i International Community. It also reported that "a responsible security source from Egypt's Ministry of Interior revealed that the Ministry's section on legal affairs is studying the ruling [just] issued by the Court of Administrative Justice in preparation for [the Ministry's] appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court."

Egypt's Court Ruling on Baha'i Rights: Published Verdict Unveils Possible Deception!

According to today's edition of Al-Ahram semiofficial Egyptian newspaper and the government's mouthpiece, yesterday's court ruling allowing the two Baha'i litigants to obtain birth certificates and ID cards without religious classification did state the following:

The Baha'i [Faith] is not a religion, and that divine religions are three [namely] Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and they are the only ones allowed in the religion section [of ID cards/birth certificates]. The court affirmed that only those Baha'is who were wrongly issued ID cards, birth certificates or official documents with "Baha'i" entered in the religion section, are allowed the issue of documents "without" [religion] or with a dash (-) entered [in place of religion]. Any other Baha'is do not have the right to obtain documents "without" [religious classification in place of one of the specified religions] or with a dash (-) [instead of religion].

If this is true, it appears that it would be the first public release of the supposed verdict. It implies that the case of the Baha'is of Egypt continues to face significant obstacles and is nowhere near resolution.

Does it imply that all other Baha'is in Egypt who do not possess ID cards or birth certificates, in addition to those who hold old paper ID cards with no religion written in their documents, might need to sue the Ministry of Interior en masse in order to be allowed the same treatment as those involved in this verdict?

On the other hand, it is hoped that this language could have been a mere misunderstanding of the verdict itself and that a correction of its meaning can be expeditiously confirmed.

Victory for Human Rights in Egypt: Baha'is Can Have ID Cards & Birth Certificates

At last...happy faces in the courtroom

Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice has just ruled now in favor of the Egyptian Baha'is, allowing them to obtain identification documents and birth certificates. The verdict opens the door for the Egyptian Baha'is to leave the religious classification section blank (enter dashes or "other") on all identification documents and other official documents including birth certificates, according to the court's ruling. The final choice between these allowed options will be determined later. In effect, the Egyptian Baha'is will now be able to enjoy all their rights of citizenship in their homeland.

This particular verdict involves the case of the 14-year-old twin children, Emad and Nancy Raouf Hindi who, until this date, were without Egyptian birth certificates. It also involves the case of the 18-year-old university student, Hussein Hosni Bakhit Abdel-Massih, who was dismissed from the university consequent to his inability to obtain a military postponement certificate required for the continuation of his education. Since he was not permitted the issue of a national ID number and an ID card because of being a Baha'i, he could not obtain the required military certificate.

These cases suffered six postponements before today's ruling. This verdict illustrates Egypt's willingness to move forward in her path towards progress and tolerance. It is also a testimony to the emerging independence of the judiciary. It upholds Egypt's commitment towards the enforcement of equal rights to all her citizens.

More news and updates to follow....

See BBC Arabic coverage here: مصر: بطاقات هوية للبهائيين بدون ذكر الديانة

See Reuters coverage here: Egypt Baha'is win court fight over identity papers

See IHT's Daily News Egypt coverage here: Favorable verdict a victory for Bahais
"While a written verdict has not yet been issued, Bahgat [of EIPR] told Daily News Egypt that the Administrative Court’s chief judge stated that even though Bahais do not belong to one of the three religions officially recognized by the state, they enjoy the right to refuse to identify himself as one of these religions. He also said that members of the Bahai faith have the right to access state services."

See AFP coverage here: Egypt's Bahais score breakthrough in religious freedom case

See Arabic Blog coverage here: زى ام العروسة

See Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) coverage here: Egypt: Court Prohibits Withholding Documents from Baha’is
Government Should Implement Discrimination Decision Without Delay

See Canada's National Post coverage here: Egypt grants Baha'is access to official ID
Minority Rights; Members must leave religion box blank

BAHÁ'Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

United Nations Office
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120, New York, NY 100 17 USA
Telephone: 1-212-803-2500, Fax: 1-212-803-2566, Email: uno-nyc@bic.org

Press Release

For Immediate Release
29 January 2008

For more information, contact Bani Dugal in New York at 212-803-2519 (office) or 914-329-3020 (mobile) or Diane Ala’i in Geneva at +41 (-22)-798-5400 (office) or +41 (-78)-60-40-100 (mobile)

Egypt court upholds Baha’i plea in religious freedom cases

CAIRO (29 January 2008) -- In a victory for religious freedom, a lower administrative court here today ruled in favor of two lawsuits that sought to resolve the government’s contradictory policy on religious affiliation and identification papers.

The Court of Administrative Justice in Cairo upheld arguments made in two cases concerning Baha’is who have sought to restore their full citizenship rights by asking that they be allowed to leave the religious affiliation field blank on official documents.

“Given the degree to which issues of religious freedom stand at the heart of human rights issues in the Middle East, the world should cheer at the decision in these two cases today,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations.

“The compromise offered by the Baha’is in these two cases opens the door to a way to reconcile a government policy that was clearly incompatible with international law -- as well as common sense,” said Ms. Dugal.

“Our hope now is that the government will quickly implement the court’s decision and allow Baha’is once again to enjoy the full rights of citizenship to which they are duly entitled,” said Ms. Dugal.

The decisions today concerned two cases, both filed by Baha’is, over the issue of how they are to be identified on government documents.

The first case involves a lawsuit by the father of twin children, who is seeking to obtain proper birth certificates for them. The second concerns a college student, who needs a national identity card to re-enroll in university.

The government requires all identification papers to list religious affiliation but restricts the choice to the three officially recognized religions -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Baha’is are thus unable to obtain identification papers because they refuse to lie about their religious affiliation.

Without national identify cards -- or, as in the case of the twin children, birth certificates -- Baha’is and others caught in the law’s contradictory requirements are deprived of a wide range of citizenship rights, such as access to employment, education, and medical and financial services.

These problems were highlighted in a report issued in November by Human Rights Watch and the Cairo-based Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

“Employers, both public and private, by law cannot hire someone without an ID, and academic institutions require IDs for admission,” said the report. “Obtaining a marriage license or a passport requires a birth certificate; inheritance, pensions, and death benefits are contingent on death certificates. The Ministry of Health has even refused to provide immunizations to some Baha'i children because the Interior Ministry would not issue them birth certificates accurately listing their Baha'i religion.”

The issuance of birth certificates is at the heart of the first case, which concerns 14-year-old twins Imad and Nancy Rauf Hindi. Their father, Rauf Hindi, obtained birth certificates that recognized their Baha’i affiliation when they were born.

But new policies require computer generated certificates, and the computer system locks out any religious affiliation but the three officially recognized religions. And without birth certificates, the children are unable to enroll in school in Egypt.

The second lawsuit was filed by the EIPR last February on behalf of 18-year-old Hussein Hosni Bakhit Abdel-Massih, who was suspended from the Suez Canal University's Higher Institute of Social Work in January 2006 due to his inability to obtain an identity card because of his refusal to falsely identify himself as either a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew.

In both cases, lawyers representing the Baha’is have made it clear that they were willing to settle for cards or documents on which the religious affiliation field is left blank or filled in, perhaps, as “other.”

This solution is what makes these two cases different from the lawsuit that was rejected by the Supreme Administrative Court last year. In that ruling, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected a decision by the lower that upheld the right of Baha’is to be properly identified on government documents.

For more information go to:

http://news.bahai.org/
http://serv04.news.bahai.org/story/595
and/or
http://www.bahai.org/persecution/egypt

Egypt's Baha'is Mentioned in the British Parliament

Photo by Deryc Sands © Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament

Barney Leith posted in his blog "Barnabas quotidianus" on a recent significant debate in the British Parliament. The case of the Egyptian Baha'is was brought-up in relation to the Foreign Affairs Committee's Eighth report of 2006-07 Parliamentary session on global security in the middle east. During the session of 25 January 2008, Bob Spink MP of Castle Point said the following:

Again, I congratulate the Committee on this excellent report on a difficult matter.

I shall speak on a narrow subject. In chapter 5 of the report, on Egypt, I note that the part entitled “Human Rights and Democratisation” does not address a certain issue. I understand the Committee’s difficulty in visiting every point on human rights, but minority rights in Egypt are important, and I wish to flag them up.

The inception of a new system of computerised ID cards in Egypt compelled its citizens to identify themselves as members of one of three constitutionally recognised religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Members of Egypt’s Baha’i minority have been unable to register as citizens of their own country. On 16 December 2006, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Government’s position that forces Baha’is either to falsely claim to be a member of a religion or go without an ID card. Egyptian Baha’is are therefore unable to register the birth of their children, denying those children access to education, jobs and medical treatment. They are effectively unable to live as citizens in the country of their birth. That is a minority issue, and it is understandable why it is not covered in the report. Other religious groups in Egypt, including the Copts, who have changed their religion, have also faced a problem in getting ID cards.

Denying fundamental freedoms to Egyptian citizens on that basis appears to be a breach of Egypt’s obligations under article 18 of the international covenant on civil and political rights, as was asserted in a recent report by Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. It would be useful for future reports of the Foreign Affairs Committee to examine minority rights, if possible.

To read the rest of the debate, please visit Barney's blog at this link....

Egypt: Court Postopnes Baha'i Cases for Sixth Time

The Baha'i cases in Cairo's Court of Administrative Justice were postponed again today for an anticipated verdict during the 29 January 2008 court session. This is the sixth postponement for these two cases. The last postponement was announced at the 25 December 2007 court session.

Interestingly the court's clerk called the cases this time with the label "El-Baha'eiyyah" [the Baha'i] rather than using the names of the plaintiffs as it had been the case in the past. For background information on these cases, please refer to this previous post.

Also, read about this in IHT's Daily News Egypt.

European Parliament Resolution on Egypt's Human Rights Situation

The European Parliament has just passed a resolution on the situation of human rights in Egypt. The resolution is quite critical of Egypt's record on human rights and cites specific examples such as the one regarding religious minorities, including the Baha'is. It states that they "are still sadly crippled by sectarian isolation."

The resolution also affirms that it "Recognises the role that Egypt plays in the Middle East peace process and the importance that EU-Egypt relations have for the entire Euro-Mediterranean area, but points out that respect for human rights is a fundamental value of the EU-Egypt Association Agreement and reaffirms the importance of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership for promoting the rule of law and fundamental freedoms...."

Furthermore, the European Parliament "Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Egyptian Government and Parliament, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Mediterranean countries which are signatories to the Barcelona Declaration and the President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly."

In order to read the full resolution, please click here....

The reaction in Egypt reflected a strong rejection of the resolution as reported in several news items in the Egyptian press. One of which was published in Cairo today by Al-Masry Al-Youm [Arabic version] daily newspaper. The paper wrote the following in its English version:

The Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned all 27 ambassadors of the European Union countries to officially express Egypt's rejection of a draft resolution presented to the EU Parliament criticizing Egypt's human rights record and calling for the immediate release of former head of the Ghad Party, Ayman Nour.

The official spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry Hossam Zaki told reporters the ministry informed the European side that "Egypt does not accept anyone to comment on its the human rights status, nor will it allow itself to preach other countries on their internal affairs no matter what remarks Egypt has on these countries' performance in the filed of human rights."

In a sign of the mounting EU-Egyptian discord over the latest resolution, Speaker of the Shurra Council Safwat el-Sherif announced a decision to suspend the Upper House of Parliament's participation in the meetings of the political and economic committees of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliament scheduled for next week in Brussels in what was described as a protest measure against the draft resolution, which was expected to be adopted in principle on Wednesday.

The draft resolution calls for the immediate release of Nour; putting an end to what was described as the exercise of torture and ill-treatment; the non-replacement of the declared emergency status with a new anti-terrorism law tailored as a tool to criminalize the civil societies' peaceful activities, their freedom of expression, or the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on these societies and their activities.

The EU Parliament's resolution also described the lifting of the emergency status in Egypt as being of critical importance and called for guaranteeing and corroborating judicial independence through amending and abolishing all articles of the law negating or undermining judicial independence.

On a positive note, one can see this as a wonderful opportunity for Egypt to prove to her citizens first, and the world second, that she can respect human rights and enforce laws that would guarantee her citizens their rightful protection and equality in opportunity and treatment regardless of their creed, gender, thought or religious orientation.

Further links to the story: AFP, Earth Times, Yahoo News, Reuters.

Egypt and ID Cards: Exclusion by Classification!

In its most recent edition, the Cairo weekly "Watany" newspaper published a comprehensive article on the current status of the Baha'is of Egypt. The article is titled "Bahai’s: a case of civic death."

Watany newspaper describes itself as follows: "Watani is an Egyptian weekly Sunday newspaper published in Cairo. The word Watani is Arabic for “My Homeland”. The paper was founded in 1958 by the prominent Copt Antoun Sidhom (1915 – 1995), who strove for the establishment of a civil, democratic society in Egypt, where all Egyptians would enjoy full citizenship rights regardless of their religious denomination. This remains Watani’s objective to this day, leaning neither left nor right on the political level, but following its own clear course in the press field. Those in charge of Watani view this role as a patriotic all-Egyptian vocation, especially following the increasing marginalisation of the Coptic role, issues and culture within the Egyptian society over the past half century. Watani is deeply dedicated to offer its readers high quality, extensive, credible press coverage, with special focus on Coptic issues, culture, heritage, and contribution to Egyptian society."

The article in its entirety is posted below:

Bahai’s: a case of civic death
Nasser Sobhy

Late last month the Cairo administrative court postponed, for the fifth time since 2004, ruling in the case of the Baha’is, who require their religion to be cited in their ID documents. Their case against the Interior Ministry was adjourned to 22 January. The ministry refuses to cite Baha’i as a religion in ID documents on grounds that the Egyptian Constitution acknowledges only three religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Baha’is are thus required either to be officially cited as members of one of these three faiths, or to be left out in the cold with no ID documents and no rights or duties as Egyptian citizens.

The only option
Since 2004, Baha’is have undergone a serious crisis that threatens their very existence in Egypt. Even if they have IDs and birth certificates proving their belonging to the Baha’i religion, and even if their parents are or were Baha’is, they cannot be officially recognised in Egypt as Baha’is. Prior to the 2004 decision Baha’is had every right to be officially registered as such or, if they chose to, to leave the religion box in their ID documents vacant. The only option thus left to Baha’is was to take their case to court. In April 2006 the administrative court ruled that they had the right to cite their religion in formal papers, but the State appealed the ruling and the Supreme Administrative Court ruled in its favour. The State is thus not obliged to cite Baha’i as a religion in formal papers. Noteworthy is that this ruling contradicts a previous one on the same question issued in 1983.

No education, no life
Meanwhile, the Baha’i Raouf Hindi filed a lawsuit demanding the right to birth certificates for his twin children, Emad and Nancy, citing their religion as Baha’i. The twins were born in a Gulf country and were registered as Bahai’s, but when they came back to Egypt, the Civil Registration Office refused to issue birth certificates proving their religion. To date the court has not had its say on the issue. Another case before the court was filed by the Baha’i university student Hussein Hosni Bekheit Abdel-Messih who was dismissed from college for failing to hand in, among his application documents, a computerised ID and a military service certificate. The Administrative Court issued a ruling obliging the Ministry of Defence to hand him a certificate and the Ministry of Education to allow him to attend the final exam, but the State appealed and a ruling has yet to be issued. As for infants, if their parents do not register them as Muslim, Christian, or Jew, they can possess no birth certificate, meaning they have to go without the mandatory vaccination required and provided by the Health Ministry and, later in their lives, cannot be enrolled in school. They continue to live with no formal identity, leading to dire results. Males who reach the age of 16 could be sentenced to prison for evading the military service they can only perform if they possess Egyptian ID documents. And Baha’is can have no death certificates; their families cannot collect pensions. The only document they can have is the passport, since it contains no religion box.

Killing identities
Last November Human Rights Watch (HRW) in conjunction with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) issued a report on “Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedoms” in which it tackled, among other issues, the question of Baha’i identity. Joe Stork, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division of HRW met Ahmed Amr, senior assistant of the Minister of Interior. The latter defended the ministry’s policies and asserted that the insertion of the Baha’i faith in official papers would lead to a disruption of public order. Mr Stork aptly commented that officials in the Egyptian Ministry of Interior believed that they held the right to choose the religion for citizens. “Such intransigent policies are aimed at killing people’s identities, and consequently serve to persecute individuals,” he said. The EIPR indicates that the Egyptian government uses Islamic sharia or legal code to justify banning people from enjoying the rights they are entitled to by the Egyptian law and international conventions. EIPR manager Hussam Bahgat, explained that sharia had no conclusive position vis-à-vis administrative issues such as the religion box in the formal papers of modern States. “Removal of the religion cell from formal papers would be a proof of the State’s neutrality with respect to people’s religious commitment, he said; the core of the problem lies with the State’s persistence in registering people’s religion in formal papers.”

Current Status of ID Cards in Egypt: Five Million Pending!

The use of old paper ID cards was due to be terminated by the end of December 2007. However, according to an article published on 5 January 2008 in Egypt's semi-official newspaper, Al-Ahram, the use of paper ID cards had to be extended beyond the set deadline for their elimination. The reason given for this postponement is that there remains five million Egyptian citizens without the new national ID number and the computerized ID card.

The article states that 43 million ID cards were issued. The new project also requires that citizens under the age of sixteen must be issued new birth certificates with a national ID number. There were 42 million citizens who were issued the new computerized birth certificates and national number. Additionally, State Security sources indicated that 25 thousand ID cards were issued to Egyptians living abroad.

The article points to the fact that because of the 5 million pending ID cards, the deadline for the use of old paper documents was extended. It explained that the delay involves mostly rural citizens living in remote areas of Upper Egypt who are lacking local resources and who are unable to travel thousands of kilometers to central locations in order to obtain their documents.

The article makes no mention whatsoever of the religious minorities, such as the Baha'is, who are refused the issue of ID cards simply because of their religious affiliation.

The writer--Fatmah El-Desouqy--states that according to her sources, when the decision to stop using old paper ID cards is issued, all those without a national ID number will become "without identity." All official and unofficial transactions in Egypt require the possession of an ID card. This includes employment, education, banking, owning property, health care, traveling, birth & death, marriage & divorce, vaccination of children, etc....

In the 12th of January Al-Ahram edition, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, president of Egypt's National Council for Human Rights, was interviewed regarding the role of the Council in fulfilling its duties during the past year. He was asked several questions regarding the issue of religious classification on ID cards, and in particular the dilemma of the Baha'is of Egypt. Dr. Ghali affirmed his long-standing position that there is no need for including religious classification on ID cards and that inter-religious dialogue and acceptance is necessary. He also pointed to the need for solving this crisis without the fear of being open and progressive.

Egypt: 2008 Begins With Media Enlightenment

On the second of January, Al-Ahaly Egyptian newspaper published an extensive coverage of the struggle of the Baha'is of Egypt. The article, written by Omnia Talal, began with the title: "The Baha'is in Egypt...A Minority Without Identity."

The article introduced the subject by stating that "Al-Ahaly opened the Baha'i dossier." It described the teachings and status of the Baha'i Faith as an independent religion, it spoke of its history in the region, it reviewed previously published articles, it published interviews with Egyptian Baha'is, and it described clearly their dilemma by presenting well their case.

Some of the other titles used in the article include: "The charge is...Baha'i! The judgement is...no birth...no vaccination...no treatment...and even no pension!" Another title states: "A senior Baha'i, Amin Batah, told Al-Ahaly...we will not seek outside influence...and we want our rights calmly."

Other titles, based on the interview with Amin Batah, which were accompanied with photographs, state: "Why does the State practices persecution and discriminates between its own citizens?"..."Our only National Centre was confiscated by the [ruling] 'National Party' that transformed it into its own base!"..."Our relationship with Baha'is abroad is spiritual, and they do not provide us with any financial subsidy."

In another section, in which the article explains the role and functions of the head of the Baha'i Faith, it states in its title: "The Universal House of Justice is the most eminent international authority that organizes their affairs." In a section regarding the Baha'i World Community, it states in the title: "Five million members in the Baha'i International Community."

On the fifth of January, another "opinion" article was published in Al-Ahram, Egypt's semi-official newspaper, addressing the issue of prejudice. This article was written by Dr. Ali Eldeen Helal. In an enlightened analysis, the author examines the question of diversity, whether it is religious, racial, cultural or linguistic. He presents a clear and logical case for the need to eliminate all forms of prejudice from the Egyptian society, particularly when based on religious differences. He concludes by indicating that, based on the world's historical experience, a society can place itself on the road to progress, prosperity and greatness when it is confident that it can eliminate prejudice and when the spirit of loving acceptance is planted in the hearts and minds of its people.

It is heartwarming indeed to observe that the flame of hope is never extinguished in Egypt. This is only because Egyptians, by nature, are known to be generally moderate in their views. It takes a tremendous degree of courage for people to speak out on behalf of the oppressed, particularly when the voice of the extremist minority tends to be much louder and threatening. As a matter of survival, though, the voice of moderation has no alternative but to counteract with promoting acceptance and righteousness.