This is a translation of an article that recently appeared in the Egyptian weekly magazine Rosa Al-Yousef:

Freedom of belief and the Arab mind dilemma
By Pastor Rif’at Fikri Sa’yid

Issue number 4238 of Rosa Al-Yousef’s magazine, released on 29 August 2009, contained a unique and bold article about freedom of belief, and I thought of providing my own evidence concerning this serious matter since it is a touchy issue in our Arab World. Every person has the right, whether emotionally or mentally, to move in the direction that he or she chooses at his or her own accord. Freedom of conscience or freedom of belief is the right of every person to have faith or not to have it, to believe in anything or any idea or not to believe, to embrace a religion that is different from widespread religions or to be against that religion. Freedom of belief is an absolute freedom, and therefore, no person or authority has the right to control consciences or impose a sense of right and wrong on others, and no person or authority is entitled to force a person to embrace a religion that he or she does not believe in, or give up a religion that he or she deems as the right path.

Religious freedom dwells at the core of any just and free society, and as a universal principle, it is solidly based on foundational grounds. The right to freedom of religion also forms the corner stone for democracy, for it is the vital standard in the formation and safeguarding of a stable political system. Contrarily, failure to protect freedom of religions and other basic human rights will result in developing extremism, thus resulting in instability and violence.

Therefore, evaluating the situation of freedom of faith is considered an important indicator while diagnosing the general health and stability of a country.

Freedom of conscience or belief is considered among the deeply-rooted rights within international human rights laws and covenants, which were approved by Egypt.

Article 18 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stipulated the freedoms as follows:

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.

In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, three other international documents were prepared during the twentieth century with an aim to promote the principles of religious freedom: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for the year 1966, the United Nations declaration on eliminating all forms of fanaticism and discrimination that are based on religion of belief for the year 1981, and the Final Vienna Document for the year 1981. All these documents promote freedom of religion and support it legally, and should therefore be made universal.

All these texts, among others, ensure the right of a person to embrace whatever he or she wishes on terms of thought, belief or religion. Freedom of belonging to any religion is a personal conviction to believe in that religion by studying it and understanding it, whereby an individual becomes a believer and a messenger at the same time. And this is where freedom to embrace a religion clashes with the call to embrace another religion. Additionally, the principle of freedom of individuals to belong to any religion they choose, which is stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 18 from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, appeared to determine the matter before all countries and societies that this freedom is fundamental to all individuals, and they are free to embrace a religion, deviate from it or change it.

The following text is stipulated in Article 18 from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

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 have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
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.

Egypt signed these international covenants and laws, which eventually became effective in the Egyptian Law. Article 151 from the Constitution of the Arabic Republic of Egypt states the following: “The President of Republic shall conclude treaties and communicate them to the People’s Assembly, accompanied with a suitable clarification. They shall have the force of law upon being concluded, ratified and published according to established procedure.”

The Egyptian Constitution also contains articles that support equality and freedom of belief. Article 40 from the Constitution stipulates that “All citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination on account of race, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed.” Article 46 also confirms that freedom of belief stipulating that “The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rites.”

Every human being has the right to make his or her basic choices without any external pressure. He or she has the right to choose between marriage and bachelorhood, or embrace Islam, Christianity, the Baha’i Faith or any other religion. He or she has the right to choose and determine all his or her life details from the simplest ones to the most complicated. However, it is unfortunate that the historical context obliges many governing systems, societies and Arab countries – which maintain their inherited thoughts and mentalities, especially for serving the purpose of religion – to ignore these rules and thoughts, and this freedom is not absolute, but there are existing restrictions and limits that forbid people from changing their religion because these societies believe that changing one’s religion threatens the security of society, its social well-being and the comfort of its people who live in its shadow in peace, tranquility, love and brotherhood! It is shameful that the concept of freedom of religion is absent in most Arab countries.

A state is responsible for ensuring the rule of law among its citizens and this law should be above all. A state is also responsible for ensuring freedom of belief among its citizens, especially the right of individuals to embrace any religion or change their own religion, because freedom of belief or religious freedom, as known all over the world, is the freedom of individuals to embrace whichever religion they choose, their freedom to perform the rituals of this religion publicly and freely, their freedom to spread the message of this religion as long as they are doing it properly and without coercion, and most of all, their freedom to change their religion.

This is freedom of belief in its true definition. Respecting human rights, mainly their right to freedom of belief, has become a general human direction and an international law that we should all support and follow. Ensuring the right of citizenship in Egypt, regardless of sex, religion, color or creed, is the only way to put an end to any religious commotion or any interference from external forces. If we all become truly equal before the law, whether we are rulers or ruled, rich or poor, Christian or Muslim, and when we have the same rights and duties, we will not be confronted with any sectarian problem or any other problem. A good citizen is not measured by the religion he chooses to embrace, but by his respect for the law and the services he provides to society. For that reason, confiscating religious rights is considered a continuous form of despotism, because the basic idea is the complete and absolute freedom of individuals to choose their religion, be it Baha’i, Buddhism or atheism. Wasn’t that stipulated in the Egyptian Constitution and all human rights conventions?

Some people might be viewed by fanatics and extremists as deviators from religion, or even atheists, agnostics or disbelievers. Is this a reason to violate their human right to freedom of belief and conscience and shed their blood? It is a matter of destiny and future. Is freedom of citizenship respected in Egypt? And is the right of an Egyptian citizens to life, security, work, expression of opinion and freedom to believe and practice his or her religious rituals, as stipulated in the Egyptian Constitution, respected?

Constitutions are made to be respected, and there should be mechanisms to impose this respect. And the first prerequisite for imposing this respect is when a constitution does not contain any contradicting articles that lead to a huge conflict when explaining and interpreting them. If we do not have respect for freedom of religion, then let us remove from the constitution all those articles that guarantee respect from freedom of religion. And if we do not have respect for freedom of citizenship, then let us remove from the constitution all those articles that guarantee the rights to citizenship regardless of sex, color, creed, religion and belief. If Arab societies do not defend the rights of their citizens to embrace the religions and beliefs they choose, then the Arab world is facing a real dilemma with itself and with the civilized world around it!