The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights » Egypt

ElBaradei Presses Need to Formally Recognize the Baha’i Faith as a Religion in Egypt

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:13:20 +0000

Below is a translation of a recent report published on Copts-United.com

Dr. Muhammad ElBaradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who has announced his candidacy for the presidency in Egypt, stressed in a meeting with a delegation of human rights activists, intellectuals and authors in Egypt that the Baha’i religion must be recognized as an official religion in Egypt, within a framework of religious freedom.

Opposing his statement, the Popular Front for the Protection of Egypt contested that the ideas that ElBaradei has voiced and seeks to to implement in Egypt pose a grave threat to Egyptian society. The Front added that such assertions threaten to throw Egypt into a labyrinth of religious, sectarian and ideological confusion, upsetting the order of the divine religions and inviting foreign ideas into their teachings, while attempting to destroy the ideological basis of Egyptian society and disrupt its ideologies. The Front stressed that these ideas are alien to Egyptian society and clearly represent an American agenda. According to the Popular Front for the Protection of Egypt, ElBaradei is a candidate on behalf of the United States sent to brainwash Egyptians and spread ideas that have no place in the framework of his value system, run counter to his beliefs and are incompatible with his religious convictions.

Moreover, according to the Front, ElBaradei’s call to formally recognize the Baha’i Faith as a religion threatens the unity and health of Egyptian society. The Front went on to say in response to ElBaradei’s statement: “Since the Egyptian Constitution recognizes the divine religions as the pure foundational source of all human values, we demand that all of us arise to oppose this attempt to destroy this divine system, an attempt led by criminals financed from abroad, whose real purpose has now been exposed in ElBaradei’s worthless appeal by which he has called for the Constitution to be amended.”

Al-Qaradawi: Muslim-Baha’i Marriage is Wrong

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:02:26 +0000

Below is a translation of a recently published report on the Egyptian news portal Bab.com

Al-Qaradawi: the marriage of a Muslim man to a Baha’i woman is wrong

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, President of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, issued a formal legal opinion (fatwa) that it is illegal for a Muslim man to marry a Baha’i woman. He requested all those who marry abroad to provide written documents as proof of marriage to a Christian or Jewish [Kitabi] woman because some women do not follow any religion at all despite the fact that their official religion is Christianity, for example. He assured that the Baha’i religion is not recognized in the Qur’an. He also assured the right of some Muftis (those who provide formal legal opinions) to forbid the marriage of a Muslim man to a Kitabi woman in countries where Muslims are a minority, where a Muslim girl can only marry a Muslim man, and whereby the marriage of a Muslim man to a Kitabi woman would take away the chance of a Muslim woman to get a husband in that country, and this is what Omar Ibn Al-Khattab did. This fatwa was issued on the TV program “understanding life” presented by Akram Kassab on “ANA” channel during an episode about Muslim minorities.

Here is a video from that appearance (Arabic):

In the interview, Al-Qardawi described the story of a man who sought his advice: the man married a woman abroad, thinking that she was a Christian, only later to discover that she was Baha’i. Sheikh al-Qardawi said that it is against Islam to marry a Baha’i because the religion isn’t recognized by the Qur’an, unlike Judaism and Christianity, and therefore it is not a valid religion.

Freedom of belief and the Arab mind dilemma

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:14:59 +0000

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!

Egypt: Still No Justice for the Baha’is of Shuraniya

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:31:38 +0000

The Egyptian paper Al Youm conducted an interview with A’adel Ramadan, a lawyer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, who represents the Baha’i families whose houses were burned down this March in the southern village of Shuraniya. The rioters, incited by anti-Baha’i calls on Egyptian TV, surrounded the area where the Baha’is lived in the village, and using gasoline and Molotov cocktails, burned five houses.

According to Ramadan, there have been many delays in the investigation of the crime, and the regime is yet to take any legal actions against the assailants. As we’ve previously reported, following the attack, 11 people were arrested, but later released from custody. The 40 Baha’i families that fled Sohag province following the attack are still unable to return to their homes because the regime hasn’t taken the necessary steps to ensure their safety, and the families are still living with relatives. On top of that, the victims haven’t received any compensations for their burned property. Ramadan criticized the regime for a lenient attitude toward perpetrators of sectarian violence and pledged to continue fighting for the rights of his clients.

Discrimination against Baha’is in Egypt Persists

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:45:45 +0000

The American Public Radio International (PRI) recently reported about the Baha’i community in Egypt, following the implementation of the court ruling that allowed Baha’is to leave the religious affiliation field in their IDs blank.
PRI interviewed several members of the community, including Dr. Raouf Hindi, the Baha’i whose battle in court to allow his daughters to have ID cards resulted in the landmark ruling in January of 2008. He described the situation prior to the court ruling, when Baha’is had to function without official documents or list their religion as one of the three allowed (Islam, Christianity and Judaism), and fear possible jail time for lying in their documents.

The report also includes an interview with Dr. Basma Moussa, a Baha’i who described the many difficulties facing the community in Egypt. Dr. Moussa said that even after the court ruling and subsequent decree from the government, there have been numerous difficulties and delays in getting new IDs and birth certificates. Dr. Moussa reported that even those who have obtained these documents, are unable to be registered as married, since the government still refuses to recognize Baha’i marriages.

Another person interviewed was Amm Ahmed whose house, along with the houses of four other Baha’i families, was burned down in Sharoniyah, Sohag province this March. Amm Ahmed, his wife and six children were forced to flee their hometown and are now living on the outskirts of Cairo. Amm Ahmad, who was born Baha’i, worked as a Qari’ (reciter of the Qur’an) until he declared his Faith publicly. He was then fired from his job, and he and his wife were jailed for nine months based on unknown charges.

As this report shows, despite the relative improvement in the legal status of Baha’is in Egypt, many problems remain. The Baha’i Faith is not recognized by the Mubarak regime as a legitimate religion and its adherents are still harassed and discriminated against.

70 Egyptians Arrested During Protest Against Relocating Baha’is to Their Village

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:52:35 +0000

Egyptian authorities have arrested 70 people in connection with protests in the village of Ezba in the Sohag governorate. The protests followed rumors that the Baha’is whose houses were burned down by mobs in the village of Sharoniyah three months ago, would be resettled in the village. The protesters gathered around the Ezba municipal offices, demanding to know the names of the people relocated to their village so they verify that they are not Baha’i. The demonstration persisted despite the governor’s promise that the 25 families relocated to the village are not Baha’i.

As we previously reported, following the attacks in Sharoniyah village where five houses of Baha’is were burned to the ground on March 30, 2009, 30 Baha’i families fled the village out of fear of additional attacks. The families who lost their homes were unable to return to the village. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights reported to Reuters that no permanent homes were found for those families yet.

Egypt: The Civil Status Department refuses to recognize Baha’i marriages

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:42:00 +0000

The following is a translation of an article that recently appeared in Al Youm:

The Civil Status Department refuses to recognize Baha’i marriages
by Nahed Nasser

On the seventh day I discovered that the Civil Status Department in Cairo refused to accept the application forms belonging to a number of female and male spouses requesting the issuance of a national number due to the fact that Baha’i marriages are not recognized by the state. One Baha’i who approached the said department stated that the employee in charge asked him to either document the marriage at the Ministry of Justice or raise a judicial case to obtain a proof of the marriage, or otherwise the category for social status in the national card will carry the word “bachelor.”

Dr. Raouf Hindi, the spokesperson of the Baha’i community, expressed his surprise regarding the obstacles placed by the Civil Status Department before the Baha’is despite the fact that a decision was issued by the Minister of Interior last March concerning the issuance of status documents for Baha’is. “For a period of four months, officials at the Civil Status Department did not consider the issue of social status, and we must continue to spend our time in the corridors of court houses,”

He also pointed out that married people who were refused by the Civil Status Department to obtain a national number are confirmed in the birth certificates of their children as parents. Some of them even carry a family card and passports confirming that they are husbands and wives.

Dr. Raouf Hindi called upon the issuance of a speedy decision concerning this point in order to prevent an increase in the suffering of Baha’is who have been facing a state of civil death since the existence of national numbers. “We expect the decision issued by the Minister of Interior to be applied on all Baha’is without obstacles,” he added.

Egyptian Baha’i: Women are world peacemakers

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:02:40 +0000

The following piece is a translation of Dr. Basma Mousa’s latest article in “Youm 7.” Dr. Mousa is a prominent Egyptian Baha’i.

Today, a voice is raised in many parts of the earth calling upon world peace. The need for peace these days does not only entail peace in a single area, but in the world at large, where the safety and wellbeing of people interlace. Stability and peace continue to be the characteristics of civilized populations.

If we follow the events that took place in the last few years, we discover that the voice calling upon peace was raised since the last century. This voice was the voice of women calling upon world leaders to put an end to wars and build a world for children where they could live in happiness and tranquility, in a world where their childhood is not stolen and their dreams unaffected by the shed of blood, as was the case with millions of children during past world wars, where the lives of millions around the world, mainly women and children, were lost.

For that reason, we need to focus on the supportive role of women as peacemakers serving humanity. Women by nature are in support of peace more than men, and they find it difficult to respond to launching wars. Women participate in humanitarian fields and obtain the right to vote, and with this right they could direct humanity towards peace. Divine effects make it clear that when all human beings have equal access to education and when equality is achieved between men and women, the foundations of war would completely collapse. Equality between men and women would lead to the eradication of wars because women will not approve their launch.

I am saying this because I listened to a great speech on the BBC channel delivered by Queen Rania of Jordan, who is a beautiful, humble and educated woman. She was talking about the importance of peace in the lives of children so that they grow up to become the children of tomorrow without inheriting the remains of wars and fanaticism around the world. The Queen strives diligently with peace movements and civil society organizations and joins first ladies from all over the world in the effort to spread the culture and message of peace. During the last few years, I followed the diligent efforts conducted by the first lady of Egypt in the peace movement that carried her name and that is sponsored on a global level. There is also the “Reading for All” festival, which carried the slogan “peaceful Egypt” to provide children with new ideas for sowing the seeds of peace. Many women around the world are now working in civil society organizations in order to achieve peace.

Women’s call for peace comes with a new type of human appeals characterized by tranquility away from violence and the cycles of war. The access of women into the field of humanitarian issues allowed them to work with strength in the bumpy path of peace, which is the only way to a better life for our children. From this day forward, not a single woman would accept to throw away the blood of her children into the kilns of war. If the time has come for women to assume power at the ministries of defense around the world, they would undoubtedly put an end to all wars, which would only become a painful memory in history and the children would no longer be sacrificed to phantoms of war.

I praise the Security Council for the issuance of the eminent Resolution Number 1325 in 2000 concerning women, peace and security, which admitted for the first time in its history the needs of women and girls during time of conflict and post conflict and their continuous role in promoting peace.

The mission to establish a peaceful world is in the hands of today’s world leaders, considering the large responsibilities that were thrown on their shoulders. The challenge world leaders are currently confronted with is to win back the trust of citizens in them, in their government, and in international organizations with constant commitment to the highest principles of justice and world priorities that solicit unity and solidarity. The greater peace that has been held in our minds for a very long time is actually at the tip of our fingers.

Now that women are active in all fields, they need to make a priority out of the issue of general peace to promote the unity of people around the world, eliminate weary hearts, discard religious and racial fundamentalism, as well as political fanaticism, for the human world is one family and all the children are the sons of Adam, the sons of God.

For fear that he would convert from Islam to the Baha’i faith

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:20:20 +0000

The following is a translation of an article that recently appeared in Al Youm:

The first judicial ruling to give the custody of a child to his mother’s family after she embraced the Baha’i faith.

By Siham Al Basha

Today, Department 12 at Al-Zananiri Court issued the first ruling to give the custody of a little child to his “mother’s aunt” because his parents embraced the Baha’i faith. Fayza Abdul Fattah Muhammad and her brother Muhammad Abdul Fattah Muhammad, the father of the mother’s child Maha Abdul Fattah Muhammad, raised a court case number 164 for the year 2007 to take the child into their custody for fear that he would embrace the Baha’i faith.

On the seventh day, Muhammad Abdul Fattah stated that when his daughter married Usama Sabri Muhammad, he did not know that her husband came from a Baha’i family. His personal identification card and all the identity cards of his family were marked with the Islamic faith. For that reason, the father agreed to the marriage of his daughter. He stated: “two years after my daughter’s marriage, I was surprised to discover that she had embraced the Bahai’i faith and that she had known that her husband was a Bahai’i prior to their marriage. Abdul Fattah clarified that he had been waiting for the court ruling to be issued so that he could follow his daughter who now lives in Australia.

One of the comments on this article, reads:

The worst court ruling in the history of the Egyptian judiciary!

Written by: an Egyptian thinker

Has racism and ignorance brought us to the extent of depriving a father and a mother of their son just because they are non-Muslims?

Will this judgment of depriving a child of his family through the power of the law achieve victory for Islam? Or will the Muslim pay the price because it tarnishes the reputation of Islam by labeling them as racists who do not respect the rights of others?

Do you know that if the father raises this case to court in Australia, the judge would sentence him to jail on the charge of religious discrimination, which is a crime punished by the Australian Constitution??!!

This ruling is useless in Australia and cannot be issued because it conflicts with the International Conventions of Human Rights, and because the age of inquisition courts has ended all over the world expect in our honorable Arab countries…

I hope that all the ignorant persons who praise this ruling and who claim to have faith when they are the evil of the earth, would think about the motive behind this ruling. What would be the use of taking a child from the arms of his parents in the name of Islam when they live in a foreign country? Dozens other similar rulings will not have any effect on them while they are there. This action would only tarnish the reputation of Islam. As if we dig everyday for a reason for the world to repel against Muslims and Islam.

Egyptian Baha’i: “One world, one language”

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:02:48 +0000

The following is a translation of an article written by prominent Egyptian Baha’i Dr. Basma Mousa in “Youm 7.”

Throughout its long history, the social system of the march of humanity had undergone various stages, arriving to where it is today. The experience was successful and managed to achieve unity within the family, the tribe, the state and the nation, and global unity became an objective for which a tortured humanity struggles to attain. Building a nation became stable and it became the duty of a world walking in the path of attainment to give up entirely on divisions and differences, admit to the unity and integration of its human relations, and establish once and for all the tool that materializes at best this basic principle for a better life.

In order for humanity to reach the required level of maturity it will need a complete transformation of the current social system, which should enable it to totally integrate the pluralism that marks human kind and benefit humanity of the wide range of talents and knowledge cultivated during thousands of years of cultural encounters and human experiences. From here, the principle of the “sameness of humankind” emerges. This notion has become a priority in today’s world, because it eliminates the causes of disputes and misunderstandings among people, among them the existence of different languages. During the past years, several problems have emerged among people, one of them was caused by the absence of a single common language spoken by the world. If this language exists, there would be harmony and unity among people and the world would be united.

Choosing a secondary global language alongside the national languages of countries, to be taught in all schools around the world, would be an easy tool for exchanging opinions, spreading culture and knowledge and increasing the level of understanding and rapprochement between people. In this manner, if any person travels from one country to another, it would be as if he or she is always heading home. This is a call upon all governments around the world, represented by their parliaments, to implement this important notion.

On the occasion of the 50th commemoration of the United Nations entitled “the transformation point for all nations”, the Bahai’i International Community issued a statement in October 1995 stating the following: “we propose the appointment of a high level committee that includes intelligent and concerned members coming from various parts of the world, with relevant expertise from linguists, economists, sociologists, educators and media persons, to conduct careful studies on the subject of a global language and the adoption of a common script.

In the end, the only choice the world has is to unanimously adopt a single global language and a single script to be taught in schools around the world, in addition to the local language or languages of each country. The goal of this is to facilitate the transformation of the world into a global society by improving communication between people, decreasing administrative costs of businessmen, governments and all those involved in global and humanitarian tasks and endeavors, and promoting more sincere and hearty relations among all members of the human family. This proposal should not be wrongly understood, because it does not at all imply the annihilation of any language or culture. It was discussed in Europe at the beginning of the past century where a new language known as Esperanto was announced. Discussions however, did not go far because the world was occupied with the tragedies of wars.

Whether we like it or not, the world is heading towards its unity. We read about the proposed global currency that was made in Belgium to replace all currencies, carrying the slogan “unity in diversity”, which was discussed in the corridors of the Industrial Summit in Italy a fortnight ago. This is another tool for achieving the unity of humankind. It will decrease the major gap between abject poverty and extreme wealth. Other tools will be discussed in upcoming articles.