View Full Version : No Freedom of Religion in Egypt
Mr. Higazi (Higazy) was mentioned in the interview with Nonie Darwish, posted here:
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=311536&highlight=Mohammed+Higazi#post311536
No freedom of religion in Egypt
By Alexander Weissink*
18-01-2008
Former Muslim Mohammed Higazi is lucky that he was not present in an Egyptian courtroom on Tuesday. An Islamic fundamentalist lawyer made death threats against the Egyptian for converting to Christianity. To the dismay of Higazi's lawyer the judge made no objection.
What made matters even worse, the judge went so far as to express his loathing off the accused because he had converted. There was no verdict but the judge vowed that he would never let Mr Higazy be registered as a Christian. He defended his decision by saying that Islam is the principal religion in Egypt. No mention was made of the freedom of religion established in the constitution which is a fundamental right of all citizens.
Hideaway
Mr Higazy and his pregnant wife have been hiding for months at a secret location. He is the first convert who is attempting to get a judge to change the faith on his identity card from Muslim to Christian. Egyptian identity cards must report the faith of the holder. While freedom of religion exists theoretically, in practice Muslims are not allowed to change their religion in the municipal register.
A mosqueAt the age of 16 Mr Higazi converted to Christianity and took on the Christian name Beshoi. A classmate had left a book with takes from the Bible on his desk. "I began to read the book and was consumed by the love of Jesus,"he explained last year in an interview at a secret location. When his wife, who is also a convert, became pregnant last year he decided to make the change official. "Otherwise my child will automatically be registered as a Muslim." However, his application was rejected.
Converts
Mr Higazi's lawyer Ramsis el-Naggar, who specialises in conversions, says "there is no freedom of choice in Egypt, unless you're a Muslim."His law firm now represents some 400 converts. Most of his clients were originally Christian, for one reason or another converted to Islam, and now want to return to Christianity.
Sometimes his clients are people who regret that they changed their faith. However, many times his clients are the victims of government bureaucracy, such as children whose Christian fathers became Muslims. “Many civil servants are overzealous. If a man changes his faith to Islam they also change the listing of his children. Others function on the automatic pilot. They type the word “Muslim’ on the card as a matter of habit. A lot of mistakes are made and it takes years to correct them.”An estimated 90% of Egypt’s population is Muslim. Coptic Christians are the largest minority.
Violence
Baha'i - In November 2007, The State We're In reported on the plight of a Baha'i man in Egypt at the hands of the local bureaucrats.
So far El-Naggar has only achieved success in cases in which he could prove the person had never changed faith. In 2004 he won for the first time in the case of Mira Makram (33). Her husband had converted to Islam in 2002 and had forced her to sign a statement confirming that she had converted to Islam. Her religion was changed to Islam in the register without her knowledge. After two years of legal proceedings.the judge ordered that the change be rectified. Fundamentalists called for the death of Mira Makram. The lawyer says “These kinds of cases lead to so much controversy that they are becoming even more difficult.”El-Naggar is expecting a verdict on 22 similar cases at the beginning of February and is full of optimism. However, the Higazi case is more difficult since his client was originally a Muslim. His only chance of success would be a letter from the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Shenouda III, acknowledging that he is a Christian. However even the pope does not dare to provide him with such a letter. Mr Higazi says he understands this.
“It’s too dangerous. If the pope were to give me the letter today, churches would be burning tomorrow.”
http://static.rnw.nl/migratie/www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/080118-egypt-conversion-redirected
UN publishes IHEU statement on religious registration in OIC member states
The UN Human Rights Council has published IHEU's written statement on religious registration in OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) member states. The statement documents the failure of OIC member states to uphold their citizens' right to freedom of religion, with specific examples in Egypt and Malaysia. IHEU calls for all states to eliminate laws which require citizens to specify their religion on official documents and to permit all citizens to freely change their religion or belief without discrimination. IHEU also calls on OIC member states in particular to end discrimination against non-Muslims.
We also have the text of the statement:
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twelfth session
Agenda item 9
RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND RELATED FORMS OF INTOLERANCE: FOLLOW-UP TO AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DURBAN DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION
Written statement submitted by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status
The Secretary-General has received the following written statement which is circulated in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31.
[28 August 2009]
Religious registration in OIC Member States
Religious freedom and the ICCPR
1. The importance of religious freedom cannot be overstated. Freedom of religion or belief is enshrined in Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), in which paragraph 18.2 states that: “No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.”
2. It is notable however that certain states, and in particular member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), have consistently failed to honour their obligations to uphold this right, subjecting citizens who wish to change their religion to coercion.
The requirement to officially register one’s religion
3. We review here the requirement in many of these states to officially specify one’s religion in breach of the right to freedom of religion or belief enshrined in the ICCPR. We note with concern cases in which States limit the freedom of an individual to represent his or her actual religion on official documents, and challenge the legitimacy of States requiring their citizens to report their religious beliefs.
Cases from Egypt
4. Mr Mohammed Higazi is an Egyptian who wishes his official documentation to register the fact that he has converted from Islam to Christianity. At the age of 16 all Egyptians are required to obtain an ID that states their religion as Muslim, Christian or Jewish. These cards are necessary for virtually every aspect of life, from banking, to education and medical treatment.1
Although born a Muslim, Higazi has been a practising Christian since he was a teenager. Now married, he wishes his child to be registered as Christian – only possible if he can change the religion on his own identity card to Christian. Higazi was the first individual born a Muslim to appeal for official state recognition of his conversion, thus the official recognition of such a conversion was unprecedented. Higazi filed his case on 2 August 2007, and was denied the right to officially convert on 29 January 2008.2 By way of justification, the judge appealed to Sharia Law in order to substantiate the claim that one cannot convert to an 'older religion', stating that:
“monotheistic religions were sent by God in chronological order… as a result, it is unusual to go from the latest religion to the one that preceded it.”3
5. Mr Maher El-Gohary was the second individual to lodge such an appeal. He converted to Christianity thirty years ago he now needs his religion to be recognised by the state for his daughter to receive a Christian education.4 On 16 June 2009, a Cairo judged ruled against his request, despite El-Gohary's production of official baptism papers.5 The judge had received a report from the State Council, a consultative body of Egypt’s Administrative Court, expressing outrage at El-Gohary’s “audacity” to request a change in the religious designation on his ID. The report claimed that his case was a threat to social order and violated Sharia law.6
6. Both El-Gohary and his daughter have been violently threatened during their 10-month campaign, and have been driven into hiding.7 Particularly worrying was the call by Sheikh Yossef El-Badri, a leading Islamic scholar, for Muslims to kill Maher El-Gowhari for apostasy.8
7. We have received a copy of a fatwa stamped by Al-Azhar mosque which states that apostates are to be asked to repent and return to Islam, otherwise jurisprudence requires that they be killed.9
8. Egypt signed the ICCPR on the 4th August 1967, and ratified it on the 14th January 1982. Egypt is thus committed to Article 18, which states that:
“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.”10
This is reinforced by the Human Rights Committee General Comment 22, of 30 July 1993, that
“the freedom to "have or to adopt" a religion or belief necessarily entails the freedom to choose a religion or belief, including the right to replace one's current religion or belief with another or to adopt atheistic views, as well as the right to retain one's religion or belief.”(Bold formatting added)11
9. The Egyptian constitution enshrines this commitment. Article 46 states that 'The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rites'.12 Yet the cases of Mohammed Higazi and Maher El-Gohary clearly demonstrate that Egypt is failing to protect its citizens’ fundamental freedom to change their religious belief.
10. In Egypt, Sharia courts exist for the resolution of issues regarding the personal status of Muslims, such as marriage and inheritance. However, a non-religious Supreme Court operates above both the Sharia personal status courts and the secular criminal courts.13 In rejecting the requests of Higazi and El-Gohary, both judges appealed to Sharia law, a controversial step since neither individual considers himself to be Muslim and therefore not subject to Sharia law. By imposing Sharia law in such cases, the judges interpret the Constitution's provision of religious freedom as inapplicable to Muslim citizens who wish to convert to another religion.14 15
11. These two rulings, insofar as they set a precedent for future rulings, constitute a crushing blow to Egypt's commitment to the freedom of religion of its citizens.
12. In conclusion, the International Humanist and Ethical Union respectfully requests the government of Egypt to uphold its commitment to Article 18 of the ICCPR and Article 46 of its own constitution, by ensuring that those who wish to convert from any faith to another, or to none, are readily able to do so. We urge the Egyptian courts to rule according to the Egyptian constitution....
...A case from Malaysia
13. Every Malaysian citizen over the age of 12 must carry an identification card, a 'MyKad', which states the bearer’s religion16 This requirement is in clear breach of the ICCPR under which States have no right to demand to know the religion of any of their citizens. This point is reinforced by Section 3 of General Comment 22 of the Human Rights Committee: 'In accordance with articles 18.2 and 17, no one can be compelled to reveal his thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief.'17
14. Lina Joy, a Malaysian who converted to Christianity 10 years ago, recently applied to have the religious status 'Islam' removed from her identification card. On application to the Sharia courts, the judge ruled against her with the racist claim that 'as the plaintiff is a Malay, she is subjected to the laws of Islam until she dies’18. After further appeals and rejections, Joy's lawyer appealed to Malaysia’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, arguing that her conversion be considered a right protected under the Constitution, not a religious matter for the Sharia courts.19 Her appeal was rejected. According to the Court's judgement, the law does not officially recognise Lina Joy’s conversion from Islam to Christianity. According to Sharia law within most Malaysian states, apostasy or conversion is a punishable offence; either with a fine, a jail sentence or both.20 However, those who renounce their Muslim faith argue that Sharia courts do not have jurisdiction over them.
15. We call upon the government of Malaysia to honour its commitment to freedom of religion by enabling those who wish to convert from Islam to do so. The freedom protected by Article
11, Section 1 of the Malaysian Constitution should not be interpreted as falling under the jurisdiction of Sharia Law; it is a fundamental human right and cannot be subject to religious interpretation. We welcome reports from the Attorney General’s chambers that it was considering establishing a commission to study sensitive cases like Joy’s, and hope for a public clarification of the proper jurisdiction of Sharia law.21
16. Many states, however, notably member states of the OIC, require citizens to state their religion on official documentation. Of particular concern are the states of Indonesia, Pakistan, and Egypt; who, despite either signing or ratifying the ICCPR, still demand registration with a particular religion.
Conclusion and Recommendations
17. The requirement by States that citizens specify their religion on official documents, that only certain religions are officially recognised, and the denial of the right to change one’s religion, are all examples of failure of States to honour their commitments to the ICCPR.
18. We respectfully request all States to eliminate laws which require citizens to specify their religion on official documents or, if that requirement cannot immediately be changed, to remove all barriers to the registration of any religion or belief, including “none”, and to permit all citizens to freely change their religion or belief without discrimination.
19. Finally, we urge all OIC member States to take immediate steps to end all discrimination against non-Muslims, including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Bahais and non-believers.
http://www.iheu.org/un-publishes-iheu-statement-religious-registration-oic-member-states
Full report attached as a .pdf file.
A friend who is a practicing Physician (Coptic) will not allow her daughters to travel back to Egypt to visit their family due to the current vulnerability of abduction and forced conversion in Egypt. So much for “There is no compulsion in religion…”(Sura 2:256).
al-Nasikh wal-Mansoukh is alive and well…
Apparently, the U.S. is waffling on Maher El-Gohary's request for asylum. France has given him and his daughter temporary asylum. Are we afraid of offending the Islamists?
A father and daughter who fled Egypt to Syria after spending two and a half years in hiding for becoming Christians have arrived in France and yesterday applied for asylum there, human rights advocates said.
Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary, 58, had become the target of Islamic ill will in Egypt after he tried to change the religious affiliation on his national identification card from Muslim to Christian. He and his daughter, 17-year-old Dina Mo’otahssem, arrived in Paris from Syria on March 30 after having fled to Damascus on Feb. 22 in the wake of the revolution in Egypt that deposed then-President Hosni Mubarak....
Also, his expectation that he would be able to quickly obtain a visa to the United States proved false. Frustrated by what he described as a cold reception at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, he began to look for any country in Europe that would give him an entry visa.
On advice of the Vatican Embassy in Syria, El-Gohary went to the French Embassy in Damascus, which issued a short-term visa the same day.
Link (http://www.christiannewstoday.com/Christian_News_Report_5058.html)
PedOncoDoc
04-24-2011, 08:15
Apparently, the U.S. is waffling on Maher El-Gohary's request for asylum. France has given him and his daughter temporary asylum. Are we afraid of offending the Islamists?
I wonder exactly how safe French asylum will be for this family? :confused:
I wonder exactly how safe French asylum will be for this family?
Mr. El Gohary is apparently aware of the danger.
From the article:
Despite their newfound safety, El-Gohary and Dina are still shaken by their ordeal. They said they are afraid that a Muslim extremist in France could seek them out and attack them.
Surgicalcric
04-24-2011, 09:10
...We are afraid of offending the Islamists!
Here, I fixed your grammar.
But to answer your question, yes I believe we are.
Crip
Are we afraid of offending the Islamists?
Sure. Where does a substantial amount of the world's oil come from? Where does a lot of money accumulate due to this pattern? Islamic states, generally.
I recall the embargo in 1973. We literally do not dare risk a repeat of that event.
Here, I fixed your grammar.
But to answer your question, yes I believe we are.
Crip
It was a rhetorical question, but I approve of your change. ;)
I wonder how Wael Ghonim feels now because of these things....they fought for freedom and now....
Two of the world's oldest oxymorons - religious tolerance and religious freedom.
Richard