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.*

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

Related posts:

1. US State Department condemn Egypt’s treatment of religious minorities
2. Egypt continues to deny its oppression of religious minorities
3. Egypt must secure religious freedom

The following is a translation from Farsi of the relevant paragraphs of the Fars News Agency story:

Baha’ism, Led by Zionism, is Hatching Intrigue Behind the Scenes of the Recent Unrest

Ne’matollah Bavand, an expert and researcher in political affairs, proclaims that Baha’ism under the leadership of Zionism is behind the latest crisis and unrest.

Asserting that there is no doubt that Baha’ism, led by Zionism, is behind these disturbances, Bavand declared: “A female advisor to one of the candidates in the recent presidential election who wears a turban defended Baha’ism.” [Note: this is an implied and disparaging reference to Mehdi Karroubi].

He added: “How long will the government put up with these people? Haven’t the people been convinced yet of the nature of these hypocrisies?…An advisor to this man, who pretends to be a man of the cloth and who was once the head of parliament, has openly come out in defense of Baha’ism and is currently completing training with her husband in England to become spies.”

He emphasized, “The public sees these things and becomes upset. Isn’t there a way to take care of these problems? The key players leave Iran and people of lesser importance are tried, when it is the key players that need to be tried!…The enemy has come to seek revenge for all the victories [of the Islamic Republic] in the Mecca of Islam: Iran!”

Below in a translation from Farsi of the Javan newspaper story

Plot of Baha’ism in the Musawi Camp to Publicly Desecrate Religious Sanctities is Exposed

On ‘Ashura, the protectors of the Musawi camp did not have the decency to abstain from desecrating even the most sacred of religious sanctities. By tearing up copies of the Qur’an on Enqelab Street in front of those mourning the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, they have exposed another side of their contempt for religion.

Confirming the above report, an expert in matters of security told Javan Online: “The actions of the Musawi Camp in desecrating religious sanctities is nothing new. In fact, this began happening when a Baha’i branch in the staff of this candidate was formed during the days leading up to the election.”

He added: “This sect has long been planning to attack the religious sanctities of the people on ‘Ashura but since they can never secure the protection of the masses, they will never be succeed.”

Regarding the role of Baha’ism in desecrating religious sanctities, our expert in matters of security stated, “The path that the Musawi camp is taking in their attack on religious sanctities is the exact same path that the misguided Baha’i sect has been on for years.”

He added: “We have evidence connecting the sect of Baha’ism with the Musawi camp and the strategic partnership between these two groups.”

Related posts:

1. Iranian Regime Continues to Scapegoat the Baha’is for Recent Unrest
2. Uzbekistani State Media Accuses Baha’is of Being Iranian Agents
3. Serious Charges Emerge against Recently Detained Baha’is in Iran

Following a trial that didn’t follow the appropriate legal procedures, Zabihollah Raoufi, a Baha’i from the Sanandaj governorate, was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court to one year of imprisonment. Ali Ehsani, a Baha’i resident of Semnan was sentenced to two years of imprisonment and additional two years of exile for spreading propaganda and activities against national security. (IPW translation) Khabard Navar reported the arrest and subsequent release on bail of two Baha’is from Kashan. They will be charged with “propagation of the Baha’i religion” in court. (IPW translation) In Ahvaz, the trial of a Baha’i couple commenced last month. They are accused of teaching the Baha’i Faith and the persecutor requested the maximum sentence. In Hamadan, Khabar Navard reports that Mehrangiz Husayni has begun her one year sentence for “propagation of the Baha’i religion”.

These innocent Baha’i citizens are persecuted and punished simply for practicing a different religion. We call on the Iranian regime to immediately release all Baha’is from custody and drop all the fabricated charges against members of the community.

Related posts:

1. Round-up of Updates about the Ongoing Persecution of Baha’is in Iran
2. Round-up of updates from Iran: Persecution of Baha’is continues unabated
3. 3 Baha’i Youth Imprisoned in Shiraz!

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.

Related posts:

1. Department of Civil Status leads discrimination against Baha’is
2. Egypt: House of National Archives refuses to issue any official documents pertaining to Bahai’is
3. Baha’is in Egypt still deprived of basic civil rights

The seven Baha’is are the members of “Friends of Iran”, a national-level coordinating group for the Baha’i community in Iran. Six of the group, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm, have been arrested in their home in Tehran on May 14, 2008. Mahvash Sabet was arrested on March 5, 2008 during a visit to Mashad.

We renew our call for the immediate release of the seven innocent Baha’is. Any trial based on such false charges can not be fair, regardless of its outcome. As Muslims, we must stand behind those innocent people persecuted in the name of our religion. We would like to reiterate our support for the persecuted Baha’is in Iran in this difficult time.

Related posts:

1. Iran Sentences Baha’i Leaders to 20 Years in Prison
2. Sentence of the Iranian Baha’i leaders halved to ten years
3. Trial of 7 leaders delayed

Arson of a Baha’i residence in Kerman, south-east Iran, July 18, 2008

More images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Photos from arson in Vilashahr (Isfahan province) of a Baha’i residence, July 15, 2008

Remains of molotov bottles used to torch a Baha'i home in Vilashahr

More photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Arson of private property of Baha’is in Rafsanjan, July 8, 2008

More photos: 1, 2, 3

Arson of a Baha’i home in Miandasht, April 4, 2008

More photos: 1

Attacks on Baha’i residence in Semnan, mid-April 2009

"Death to Infidel Baha'i Israeli" and "Baha'ism = treason"

More photos: 1, 2, 3, 4

Related posts:

1. Wave of Arson Attacks against Baha’i Businesses in Rafsanjan, Iran
2. Another case of arson against the Baha’is in Iran
3. A Baha’i home arsoned in Kerman, Iran

These are brave, courageous souls representing the future of Iran, where all minorities are embraced and given equal rights regardless of their ethnic or religious differences.

Related posts:

1. European Parliament Resolution on Human Rights in Iran
2. “My esteemed fellow countrymen and women, the people of Iran”
3. Interview with Foad: Using music to increase awareness on the plight of Baha’is in Iran

Separately, Islamic preacher Yousef Al-Badri and 20 lawyers filed a report against the activist Dr. Basma Moussa and Ahmed Abu Al Ela, a Baha’i from Shoraniya.

Moussa and Abul-Ela are accused of practicing banned rituals in public and using religion to promote destructive, deviant and aberrant ideas that violate the basic characteristics of Egyptian society, harm security and stability and disdain the heavenly religions, according to the report.

[..]

Sheikh el-Badri’s report said there is a big difference between the freedom of belief stated in the Constitution, even if it is a deviant faith, and the practicing of rituals, which must observe public order and ethics.

Islamic scholars have unanimously agreed that Baha’ism is apostate from Islam and it is forbidden to join it, believe in it, or permit it to build institutions or associations to practice its rituals freely, said the report. It added Baha’is must be tried as their faith violates Allah’s laws.

El-Badri said Moussa and Abul-Ela must be tried under Article 98 of the Criminal Law which punishes with 6 months to 5 years and a fine of LE 500 – LE 1000 whomever uses religion to promote, say or write in whatever way about deviant ideas in order to spark off sedition or disdain the heavenly religions or their followers or to harm national unity.

Related posts:

1. ElBaradei Presses Need to Formally Recognize the Baha’i Faith as a Religion in Egypt
2. Human rights groups issue report on Egypt
3. Discrimination against Baha’is in Egypt Persists

The rights groups are:

• Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
• Arab Network for Human Rights Information
• Hisham Mubarak Law Center
• El Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence
• Cairo Institute for Human  Rights Studies
• Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression

Rights Groups Urge Prosecutions for Assault on Baha’i Egyptians

Six Egyptian human rights organizations today urged the Public Prosecutor to initiate an immediate investigation into assaults committed against Baha’i Egyptians over the past several days in the southern governorate of Sohag. In a complaint filed this morning, the groups called for the investigation to include those responsible for the direct incitement to the assaults and asked that the matter be referred urgently to criminal trial.

“The heinous and unprecedented attacks on Baha’i Egyptians are a crime against all Egyptians,“ the rights organizations said. “We shall never allow the perpetrators of these crimes to benefit from the same climate of impunity that has marred the government’s response to sectarian violence against Egyptians Copts over the last four decades.”

Preliminary inquiries carried out by the rights groups found that the attacks began on Saturday evening, 28 March, in the village of al-Shuraniya, located in the Maragha district of Sohag, when dozens of village residents gathered outside of the homes of Baha’i citizens in the village and began chanting, “There is no god but God, Baha’is are the enemies of God.” Those assembled then began pelting the houses with rocks, breaking windows and attempting to break in. Although police forces arrived in the village after being called by the victims of the attack, the police simply dispersed the assembled parties without arresting anyone involved in the crime. Similar, though less intense, attacks occurred on 29 and 30 March.

On 31 March at approximately 7 pm, the attacks escalated when some residents of the village—known by the victims—threw improvised firebombs and Molotov cocktails at the homes of the five Baha’i families living in the village, leading to the partial destruction of the houses. The victims said that the assailants broke or disabled the water connections to their homes to prevent them from putting out the fires. According to the victims, the assailants also broke into the houses, vandalizing property inside and stealing some electrical appliances and livestock. There were no human injuries or losses. The attacks prompted some of the Baha’i families to flee their homes and hide in the fields until the following morning. The police arrived during the attacks and again dispersed the assailants; there was no information that any of the assailants had been arrested.

The next morning, 1 April, the police ordered the remaining Baha’is in the village to leave immediately and did not allow them to return to their homes to collect clothing, medicine, schoolbooks, money, or other necessities. Information gathered indicates that all Baha’is have left the village as of the evening of 1 April.

The assaults on the Baha’is in al-Shuraniya began after an episode of the program “al-Haqiqa,” aired on Dream 2 on 28 March, which discussed the situation of Baha’is in Egypt. The program featured a Baha’i from al-Shuraniya and Baha’i activist and dentistry professor Dr. Basma Gamal Musa. Also participating in the program was Gamal Abd al-Rahim, a journalist at the state-owned al-Gumhouriya newspaper and a member of the board of the Press Syndicate, who, during the program, said referring to Dr. Basma, “This one should be killed.” On 31 March, only hours before the homes of the Baha’is were torched in al-Shuraniya, al-Gomhouriya published an article by Gamal Abd al-Rahim in which he praised the residents of al-Shuraniya for stoning the homes of Baha’is in the village in the preceding days. He considered these crimes to be evidence of al-Shuraniya residents’ “protectiveness of their religion and beliefs.”

The six rights organizations demanded that the Public Prosecutor question Gamal Abd al-Rahim regarding his incitement to violence against Baha’is in both the television program and his published article, pursuant to Articles 171 and 172 of the Penal Code, which address public incitement to felonies and misdemeanors. Consistent with the organizations’ principled opposition to the imprisonment for publication offences, the groups’ complaint excluded Article 98(f) of the Penal Code, which stipulates mandatory imprisonment for “anyone who exploits religion to promote extremist ideas with the intent of inciting civil strife and damaging national unity,” and Article 176 of the Penal Code, which also stipulates mandatory imprisonment for anyone who “incites to discrimination against a group of people on the basis of race, origin, language, religion, or belief when such incitement disrupts public peace.”

Moreover, the rights organizations called on the board of Egypt’s national Press Syndicate to take immediate action against Gamal Abd al-Rahim, particularly since he occupies a seat on the board, regarding his violation of the Syndicate’s Code of Ethics, which states that journalists have an obligation “to refrain in their writings from joining racist or bigoted advocacy or advocacy that involves contempt or disdain of religions, aspersions cast on the faith of others, or incitement to discrimination against or contempt for any group of society.”

According to an AFP article, 6 arrests have been made in relation to the incidents.

Related posts:

1. Baha’i Homes Set on Fire Again in Egypt – UPDATED
2. Mass exodus of Egyptian Baha’is from Sohag province
3. 70 Egyptians Arrested During Protest Against Relocating Baha’is to Their Village

The following account appeared at “Al Gomhuria“:

Violence broke out in the island of Showraniyya in the province Sohag, after one of its residents appeared on a television show announcing his conversion to the Baha’i Faith, and claiming that the entire island has converted to the Baha’i Faith. The island’s youth surrounded the homes of the Baha’is (which were a few in number) and threw Molotov cocktails, gasoline bottles and gas cylinders at them, and they immediately caught fire. The flames spread to adjacent homes, which were vacant at the time.

Security forces rushed to the scence and contained the flames before they spread to the rest of the village; in total, 5 homes were damaged by the fire. Several of the village’s youth placed barricades at the village’s entrace to block the entry of security forces and firefighters, and one police officer was injured in clashes with villagers.

Residents of the island told “Al Gomhuria” that they live in complete isolation, and a ferry is the only means of trasportation for the island’s 30,000 residents. The ferry stops its trips once evening sets in, leaving the islanders with no other option than using small boats.

The island’s residents also stated: “We are all Muslims and Christians, living peacefully side by side. Only a few villagers converted to the Baha’i Faith, and they insulted our village, our reputation and our beliefs. We held demonstrations to announce innocence of these allegations.”

They further stated: “We renounced these intruders who were swayed by money from foreign bodies, and they failed to spread their ideology amongst us.

The violence also spread to Cairo, where one of the relatives of Ahmad Al Sayyid (the Baha’i from Showraniyya who appeared in the television show) was told to either leave his home, or face death.

In response to the attack, rights activsts have called for a demonstration today before the Supreme Court, to demand that the Attorney-General prosecute journalist Gamal Abd Alrahim who called for violence against Baha’is, and to protect Egypt’s Baha’i minority.

Civil rights activists, journalists, lawyers and academics were actively involved in the court cases demanding the issuing of ID cards for Baha’is, and have played a huge role in garnering support for Baha’is.

Related posts:

1. Clerics in Iran inciting hatred, attacks against Baha’is
2. Tragic news: 3 Baha’i homes were reportedly burnt down
3. Interview with one of the Shoraniya assailants