The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights » Egypt

Baha’is of Egypt Address Fellow Countrymen Following the Revolution

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:59:17 +0000

In an open letter to fellow Egyptians, the Baha’is of Egypt proposed a number of suggestions for the betterment of Egypt at this critical juncture, based on the teaching of the Baha’i faith. In the letter, the Baha’is of Egypt express their view that the January 25th uprising demonstrates the collective desire of Egyptians to “exercise greater control over our destiny”. The letter sees the uprising as a sign that Egyptian society has reached a new stage in its development. They add that “the events that have taken place in Egypt can be seen as a response to forces that are, in fact, drawing the entire human race towards greater maturity and interdependence.”

The letter suggests a number of principals for the betterment of Egypt following the revolution. The writers of the letter state that “a mature society demonstrates one feature above all others: a recognition of the oneness of humanity.” Many principles can be derived from “this fundamental truth -the oneness of humanity”. The principles suggested by the Baha’is include the equality between genders – an end to the exclusion of women from full participation of the affairs of the Egyptian nation. Another principle is the importance of education that allows each Egyptian youth to “fulfil their innate potential to contribute to the progress of society.” The corruption afflicting Egypt must be dealt with to allow young people to harness their talent and gain employment “on the basis of merit, not privilege”. The letter also highlights the importance of equality, stating that “the collective resources of the human race should therefore be expended for the benefit of all, not just a fraction. Neglect of this ideal has a particularly destabilizing influence on society, as extremes of wealth and poverty exacerbate existing social tensions and provoke unrest.”

Read the full letter in English or in the original Arabic.

Podcast: The religious minorities in Egypt after Jan. 25th

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:46:47 +0000

What’s like to belong to a religious minority in Egypt after January 25th? Will the long history of oppression get worsened or relieved? To better know, we’ve interviewed four young activists who represent a major portion of the religious minorities in Egypt; a Baha’i, an atheist, a secular, and a Christian, in quest for their opinions, reflections, thoughts, ideas, and hopes about the Egyptian people’s uprising which made the news for the last 2 consecutive months.

To better understand the situation, the listener has to put in mind that Egypt hosts two major religious institutions, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria established in the middle of the 1st century by Saint Mark the Evangelist, and Al-Azhar University founded in 970 A.D by the Fatimids as the first Islamic University in the world. Cairo has a unique cityscape with its ancient mosques, especially around the area of Old Cairo. Cairo is also known as the “city of a thousand minarets.”

Egypt’s “recognized” religions are Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and more recently the “Dash religion,” which denotes the Baha’i faith according the the state. The Bahai’s of Egypt, who were granted their basic rights to issue an ID after uphill trials and long waiting years, still face a lot of problems though. You’re not allowed, by state, to believe in any other religion, or practise any other rites. Egypt is a predominantly Sunni Muslim country with Islam as the recognized state religion. The percentage of the adherents of various religions is a controversial topic in Egypt, with different sources citing different figures. According to public figures, around 90% are identified as Muslim “by birth or by I.D.,” however it’s nearly impossible to estimate accurate figures, because it’s considered “deadly” to announce a convert publicly. A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, and there is a minority of Shi’a. Islam plays a central role in the lives of most Egyptian Muslims, however the state of ambivalence is a wide trend in Egypt. The Adhan (Islamic call to prayer) is heard five times a day, and has the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to media and entertainment. Cairo also comprises a significant number of church towers.

According to the current constitution of Egypt, until Saturday’s referendum, any new legislation must at least implicitly, but ambiguously, agree with Islamic law; however, the constitution bans political parties with a religious agenda, moreover the constitution is mostly secular, except for the personal status laws which are derived from Sharia Law.

Religious minorities face discrimination and marginalization on many levels. In terms of religious freedom, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life ranks Egypt as the fifth worst country in the world, after Saudi Arabia, Iran, Uzbekistan and China. In addition, Egypt ranks among the 12 worst countries in the world in terms of religious violence against religious minorities and in terms of social hostilities against Christians in specific. Furthermore, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has placed Egypt on its watch list for religious freedom that requires close monitoring due to the nature and extent of violations of religious freedom engaged in or tolerated by the government.*

Listen to the podcast now or download it!

Mideast Youth Podcast: Broadcasting Ahead
Originally posted on MideastYouth.com by Ahmed Zidan

Baha’i Homes Set on Fire Again in Egypt – UPDATED

Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 13:20:18 +0000

The Egyptian paper Youm 7 reported yesterday that two homes of Baha’is were set on fire in Shuraniya village, in the Sohag governorate. The group of people responsible for the arson also stole property of the Baha’is.

The arson did not result in human casualties because the owners of the homes had fled Shuraniya and have been living in Cairo since their homes were previously torched in March 2009, fearing additional attacks. 40 Baha’i families from the village fled it following the attacks and are still unable to return to them. While several people were arrested after the previous arson attack, they were later released and no charges were brought against anyone. The March 2009 attack targeted five homes of Baha’is following anti-Baha’i incitement on Egyptian TV.

Update: The Daily News Egypt is reporting that police involvement is suspected in the arson. It also reports that the arson happened a few days before the Baha’i home owners were expected to return to Shuraniya.

According to Adel Ramadan, the Head of the legal unit of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, “a group of Baha’is had asked state security police to secure their return to their homes. They were told that they can return on Tuesday, and suddenly we found people attacking homes.” He added that “we have strong evidence that two state security officers incited the people to attack the homes of Baha’is.” Bahaa Abdel-Rahman, a Baha’i home owner who fled Shuraniya after the 2009 arson is quoted in the paper as saying that “people told us that the police had left the village an hour before the attacks, which proves their involvement in inciting people.”

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.