Persecution of Baha`i's in Egypt

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Baha'is in Egypt

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Recent court rulings in Egypt have highlighted the dire human rights situation facing the Baha'i community there. The rulings in turn have touched off a debate between human rights organizations and major Islamic groups about freedom of religion and belief.
Deprived of all rights as an organized religious community since 1960, Egyptian Baha’is are facing an immediate crisis over government efforts to deny them all-important identification cards. The ID cards are required by law and are essential for access to employment, education, and medical and financial services, as well as freedom of movement and security of property.
(View August 2005 Report by the Baha'i International Community)
At the heart of the current situation is a government policy that forces Baha’is to either lie about their religion and illegally falsify their religious affiliation—or go without ID cards, which currently require that a person choose either Islam, Christianity or Judaism, which are the three officially recognized religions in Egypt.
The crisis facing the Baha’i community gained international attention after an April 4, 2006, ruling by a three-judge administrative court, which held that government efforts to deprive Baha'is of ID cards were illegal and upheld the right of the Baha'i plaintiffs to state their religion on official documents.
(View Court Ruling: English | Arabic)
While Egyptian human rights groups immediately hailed the decision, conservative Islamic organizations—including scholars at Al Azhar University and representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood—urged the government to file an appeal, which it did on May 7. On May 15, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the government's motion to temporarily suspend the lower court's order, and set June 19 as the date for a substantive hearing on the lower court's judgment. After two postponements, the hearing has been rescheduled for November 20, 2006.
In August, the issue came into sharp focus again at a national hearing on the issue of religious affiliation and state identification cards, at which a Baha’i provided significant testimony. That hearing received widespread media coverage.

 

[arthra]

Most Baha'is have probably already heard the news from Egypt but here it is:

EGYPTIAN COURT RULES AGAINST BAHA'IS, UPHOLDING GOVERNMENT POLICY OF
DISCRIMINATION

CAIRO, 16 December 2006 (BWNS) -- In a closely watched case that has
become the focus of a national debate on religious freedom, Egypt's
Supreme Administrative Court today ruled against the right of Baha'is to be
properly identified on government documents.

The decision upholds current government policy, a policy which forces
the Baha'is either to lie about their religious beliefs or give up their
state identification cards. The policy effectively deprives Egyptian
Baha'is of access to most rights of citizenship, including education,
financial services, and even medical care.

"We deplore the Court's ruling in this case, which violates an
extensive body of international law on human rights and religious freedom to
which Egypt has long been a party," said Bani Dugal, the principal
representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations.

"Since this was the last avenue of appeal in this particular case, the
Court's decision threatens to make non-citizens of an entire religious
community, solely on the basis of religious belief," said Ms. Dugal.

"Our hope now is that the public debate over this issue will cause the
Egyptian government to rectify its discriminatory policies," said Ms.
Dugal. "This could be accomplished either by allowing Baha'is to be
listed on government documents, by abolishing the religious affiliation
listing entirely or, simply, by allowing the word 'other' to be legally
included on state identification forms."

The case stems from a lawsuit filed against the government by a married
couple, Husam Izzat Musa and Ranya Enayat Rushdy, who had their
identification cards and passports confiscated after they applied to have
their daughters added to their passports, which listed the Baha'i Faith as
their religion.

In Egypt, all citizens must list their religious affiliation on state
ID cards and other documents, and current policy requires that they
choose from one of the three officially recognized religions - Islam,
Christianity or Judaism.

In April, a lower administrative court ruled in favor of the couple,
saying the state must issue them ID cards that properly identified their
religion. The ruling said that even if the government did not recognize
the Baha'i Faith, adherents should still have their religious status
properly stated on official documents.

That ruling provoked an outcry among extremist elements in Egyptian
society, who objected to any official mention of a religion other than the
three mentioned in the Qur'an, opening a vigorous debate over issues of
religious freedom and tolerance here.

Since April, more than 400 articles, stories, commentaries and programs
have appeared in the Egyptian and Arabic news media about the case or
its fallout. As well, independent human rights organizations here and
abroad have closely followed the issue.

In May, the government appealed the lower court's ruling, which brought
the case before the Supreme Administrative Court.

On 2 December, a final hearing was held on the case, at which Baha'i
lawyers argued for rejection of the government's appeal, on the basis
that the lower court's ruling is fully supported by Egyptian law. The
Court said at that time that it would release its final ruling today.


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[ayani]

guys, i'm so sorry... is this not what had happened in Iran, too?

 

[arthra]

Thanks for your post Gracie..

Yes both Iran and Egypt seem to have taken similar directions... The repression seems worse in Iran probably because there are more Baha'is there but it is similar. We do not blame Muslims for this but rather those who spread misinformation that we are British or Russian or Israeli agents or are into any kind of espionage or conspiracy.

- Art