U.S. Department of State - 2008 Human Rights Report: Egypt

February 25, 2009

The National Democratic Party (NDP) has governed the Arab Republic of Egypt, which has a population of approximately 82 million, since the party's establishment in 1978. The NDP, which continued to dominate national politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the popularly elected People's Assembly (PA) and the partially elected Shura (Consultative) Council, derives its governing authority from the 1971 constitution and subsequent amendments. Executive authority resides with the president and the cabinet. In 2005 President Hosni Mubarak won a fifth consecutive six-year term with 88 percent of the vote in the country's first presidential election, which was marred by low voter turnout and charges of fraud. The civilian authorities did not always maintain effective control of security forces, who committed numerous, serious abuses of human rights.

The government's respect for human rights remained poor, and serious abuses continued in many areas. The government limited citizens' right to change their government and continued a state of emergency that has been in place almost continuously since 1967. Security forces used unwarranted lethal force and tortured and abused prisoners and detainees, in most cases with impunity. Prison and detention center conditions were poor. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, in some cases for political purposes, and kept them in prolonged pretrial detention. The executive branch placed limits on and pressured the judiciary. The government's respect for freedoms of press, association, and religion declined during the year, and the government continued to restrict other civil liberties, particularly freedom of speech, including Internet freedom, and freedom of assembly, including restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Government corruption and lack of transparency persisted.

The government made significant and effective efforts to combat female genital mutilation (FGM). These efforts included education, outreach, and the passage and enforcement of legislation criminalizing FGM. In addition, courts issued the first two convictions on sexual assault charges.

The constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites; however, the government restricted the exercise of these rights. According to the constitution, Islam is the official state religion, and Shari'a (Islamic law), the primary source of legislation. Religious practices that conflict with the government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited.
Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the government generally worshiped without harassment and maintained links with coreligionists in other countries.

Members of religions not recognized by the government, particularly Baha'is, experienced personal and collective hardship. Religious groups seeking recognition must submit a request to the MOI, which determines whether, in its view, the group would pose a threat to national security or social order. The MOI also consults leading religious figures, particularly the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the sheikh of Al-Azhar. The last official recognition of a religious group occurred in 1990. The government did not recognize marriages of citizens adhering to faiths other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, nor did it recognize conversions of Muslim-born citizens to other religions.

The law prohibited blasphemy and the "denigration of religions." Though there were no reported prosecutions, at least one Koranist was arrested and was being held without charges at year's end. The government prosecuted members of religious groups whose practices deviated from mainstream Islamic beliefs and whose activities were believed to jeopardize communal harmony.

The law bans Baha'i institutions and community activities and stripped Baha'is of legal recognition. The government continued to deny civil documents, including ID cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses to members of the Baha'i community. The MOI requires identity card applicants to self-identify as a Jew, Christian, or Muslim. As a result, Baha'is faced difficulties in conducting civil transactions, including registering births, marriages, and deaths, obtaining passports, enrolling children in schools, and opening bank accounts. During the year Baha'is were compelled either to misrepresent themselves as Muslim, Christian or Jewish, or go without valid identity documents. Many Baha'is chose the latter course.

Traditional practices and some aspects of the law discriminated against religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha'is. The law requires non-Muslims to obtain a presidential decree to build a new place of worship. In addition, MOI regulations, issued in 1934 under the Al-Ezabi decree, specify a set of 10 conditions the government must consider before a presidential decree for construction of a new non-Muslim place of worship can be issued. The conditions include the requirement that the distance between a church and a mosque not be less than 100 meters (328 feet) and that approval of the neighboring Muslim community be obtained before a permit to build a new church may be issued.

You could read the whole report at: 2008 Human Rights Report: Egypt

International Religious Freedom Report 2008

Egypt
International Religious Freedom Report 2008 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Released on September 19, 2008

The Constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites, although the Government places restrictions on these rights in practice. Islam is the official state religion, and Shari'a (Islamic law) is the primary source of legislation.
Although there were some positive steps in support of religious freedom, the status of respect for religious freedom by the Government declined overall during the period covered by this report. Members of non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the Government generally worship without harassment and maintain links with coreligionists in other countries. However, members of religious groups that are not recognized by the Government, particularly the Baha'i Faith, experience personal and collective hardship.

A lower court ruling interpreted the Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom as inapplicable to Muslim citizens who wish to convert to another religion. This ruling is under appeal. Separate court rulings provided for 13 Christian born converts to Islam to obtain identity documents indicating their conversion back to Christianity and allowed some Baha'is to obtain civil documents. However, the courts included requirements effectively identifying the Christian converts and Baha'is as apostates, potentially exposing them, if implemented, to risk of significant discrimination by both governmental and societal agents. In addition, a lower court held that the Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion does not apply to Baha'is.

There continued to be religious discrimination and sectarian tension in society during the period covered by this report. There were several violent incidents in Upper Egypt, including an attack by Bedouins on the Abu Fana monastery, arson attacks on Christian-owned shops in Armant, and an attack on a Coptic Church and Coptic-owned shops in Esna. Muhammad Higazy, who converted from Islam to Christianity, received death threats and went into hiding with his wife after his case received wide attention in the Arabic language media.

The Ambassador, senior administration officials, and members of Congress continued to raise U.S. concerns about religious discrimination with senior government officials. Specifically, embassy officers and other U.S. State Department officials raised concerns with the Government about ongoing discrimination faced by Christians in building and maintaining church properties, official discrimination against Baha'is, and the Government's treatment of Muslim citizens who wish to convert to other faiths.

Law 263 of 1960, still in force, bans Baha'i institutions and community activities and strips Baha'is of legal recognition. During the Nasser era, the Government confiscated all Baha'i community properties, including Baha'i centers, libraries, and cemeteries. The Government has asserted that national identity cards require all citizens to be categorized as Muslims, Christians, or Jews. The MOI has reportedly, on rare occasions, issued documents that list a citizen's religion as "other" or simply do not mention religion; however, it is not clear when these conditions apply. Baha'is and other religious groups not associated with any of the three "heavenly religions" have been compelled either to misrepresent themselves or go without valid identity documents.

Those without valid identity cards also encounter difficulty registering their children in school, opening bank accounts, and establishing businesses. Baha'is at age 16 face additional problems under Law 143/1994, which makes it mandatory for all citizens to obtain a new identification card featuring a new national identification number. Police occasionally conduct random inspections of identity papers and those found without identity cards can be detained until the document is provided. Some Baha'is without identity cards reportedly stay home to avoid police scrutiny and possible arrest.

Restrictions on Religious Freedom

The Cairo Administrative Court, a court of first impression, in its January 29, 2008 rulings in the case of Hasan Husni Naguib 'Abd-al-Masih (a Baha'i) vs. the Minister of Interior (Action No. 12780 of JY 61) interpreted the country's constitutional provision of freedom of opinion and belief to mean that non-Muslims are free to adopt Islam, free to continue in their faith, and free from compulsion to convert to Islam. However, it stated that the freedom to practice religious rites is subject to limits, especially the maintenance of public order, public morals, and conformity to the provisions and principles of Islam, which forbid Muslims to convert. The Court stated that "public order" is defined as the official religion being Islam, that most of the population professes Islam, and that Islamic law is the primary source of legislation.

The trial court's January 29, 2008, ruling in three cases brought by members of the small Baha'i minority held that the Government must issue official identification documents containing a dash or other mark in the religion field. Despite the positive aspects of the ruling, there were also restrictive aspects.

The Court noted that a purpose of filling the religion field with a dash or other distinctive mark was to protect members of the "revealed religions"--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--from Baha'i infiltration and avoid potential dangers from such persons' conduct and relations with them. The ruling stated that anyone who adopts the Baha'i Faith is an apostate and that the religion cannot be recorded in any civil status or other official document, because that would conflict with public order. In a statement published in the January 31, 2008 edition of Cairo's Rose al-Yousef newspaper, Al-Azhar University, through its Islamic Research Council, expressed its support of the 29 January court ruling. Members of the council affirmed that the Administrative Court ruling allowing these Baha'is to leave the religion section vacant or to enter the word "other" does not violate the prior decision of the Islamic Research Council, which did not recognize the Baha'i Faith as a congregation, a societal, political or religious entity.

In a discussion organized by the National Council for Human Rights on June 6, the MOI confirmed that it intended to implement the January 29 ruling as soon as a legal challenge was resolved.

The decision followed a December 16, 2006, Supreme Administrative Court ruling deciding that Baha'is may not list their religion in the mandatory religion "field" on obligatory government identity cards. In May 2006 the MOI had appealed an administrative court ruling issued in April 2006 which supported the right of Baha'i citizens to receive identity cards and birth certificates with the Baha'i religion noted on the documents. In response to requests to remove the religion field from national identity cards, the Government insisted that such identification was necessary to determine which laws apply in civil cases. This policy required Baha'is to dissimulate that they were adherents of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, to obtain necessary civil documents. The Government stated that all citizens must be in possession of new computerized identification cards by January 1, 2007, and that old, hand-written cards would no longer be valid. However, in May 2007 the Government extended the deadline for the use of the old identity cards as a temporary measure until January 2008. The Government has issued passports for Baha'i citizens. (National passports do not indicate the holder's religion.) Citizens not in possession of valid identity documents may be subject to detention.

To get more information or to see the whole report, please log in to:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108481.htm

المجلس القيادى الامريكى - وضع حقوق الانسان فى مصر مفجع - المصرى اليوم June 30, 2008

كتب عمرو بيومي ٣٠/٦/٢٠٠٨
أصدر المجلس القيادي لحقوق الإنسان بواشنطن LCHR بياناً صحفياً يؤيد فيه مشروع القرار رقم ١٣٠٣ والخاص بمطالبة الحكومة المصرية باحترام حقوق الإنسان وحرية العقيدة وحرية التعبير، الذي تقدم به للكونجرس الأمريكي السيناتور فرانك ولف.

وأعرب المجلس القيادي لحقوق الإنسان، في بيان نشره علي موقعه الإلكتروني، عن تقديره لـ«ولف» كرئيس مشارك للجنة حقوق الإنسان بالكونجرس، لتقديمه هذا القرار، الذي يفصل انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان في مصر - علي حد زعم البيان - ضد الأقليات الدينية، والصحفيين والمدونين، ودعاة الديمقراطية، ومنظمات تنمية المجتمع المدني.

وأشار البيان إلي أن القرار يحث أيضا الرئيس الأمريكي جورج بوش ووزيرة الخارجية الأمريكية كوندوليزا رايس علي وضع حقوق الإنسان والحرية الدينية علي قمة أولوياتهما في اجتماعاتهما مع المسؤولين المصريين.

ووصف البيان الوضع الحقوقي في مصر بـ«الأمر المفجع»، موضحاً أنه أدي إلي عدم قدرة الكثيرين علي المطالبة أو التمتع بحقوقهم، نتيجة لما اعتبره البيان «انتهاجاً لسياسة القمع علي نطاق واسع».

وقال: «الأقليات الدينية في مصر مثل الأقباط والبهائيين معرضون للتمييز علي جميع المستويات، ومعهم المعارضون السياسيين لنظام الحكم، ومن بينهم أيمن نور، الذي تم استهدافه وسجنه»، لافتاً إلي أن الرئيس حسني مبارك وعد بإجراء إصلاحات ديمقراطية، مراراً وتكراراً «دون الوفاء بذلك».

وطالب البيان الشعب الأمريكي بالاتصال بعضو الكونجرس الذي يمثلهم، للمشاركة في دعم مشروع القرار ١٣٠٣، مشيراً إلي أن هذا الدعم أمر حيوي ومهم لنجاح هذا القرار، والذي إذا تم إقراره، فإنه - حسب ما جاء في البيان - سيكون رسالة قوية للرئيس مبارك، مفادها أنه علي مصر احترام حقوق الإنسان.

Americans switching faiths, dropping out - CNN

AP) -- The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey finds.

The survey found the Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition.

The study released Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life is unusual for it sheer scope, relying on interviews with more than 35,000 adults to document a diverse and dynamic U.S. religious population.

While much of the study confirms earlier findings -- mainline Protestant churches are in decline, non-denominational churches are gaining and the ranks of the unaffiliated are growing -- it also provides a deeper look behind those trends, and of smaller religious groups.

"The American religious economy is like a marketplace -- very dynamic, very competitive," said Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum. "Everyone is losing, everyone is gaining. There are net winners and losers, but no one can stand still. Those groups that are losing significant numbers have to recoup them to stay vibrant."

The U.S. Religious Landscape Survey estimates the United States is 78 percent Christian and about to lose its status as a majority Protestant nation, at 51 percent and slipping.

More than one-quarter of American adults have left the faith of their childhood for another religion or no religion at all, the survey found. Factoring in moves from one stream or denomination of Protestantism to another, the number rises to 44 percent.

One in four adults ages 18 to 29 claim no affiliation with a religious institution.

"In the past, certain religions had a real holding power, where people from one generation to the next would stay," said Penn State University sociologist Roger Finke, who consulted in the survey planning. "Right now, there is a dropping confidence in organized religion, especially in the traditional religious forms."

Lugo said the 44 percent figure is "a very conservative estimate," and more research is planned to determine the causes.

"It does seem in keeping with the high tolerance among Americans for change," Lugo said. "People move a lot, people change jobs a lot. It's a very fluid society."

The religious demographic benefiting the most from this religious churn is those who claim no religious affiliation. People moving into that category outnumber those moving out of it by a three-to-one margin.

The majority of the unaffiliated -- 12 percent of the overall population -- describe their religion as "nothing in particular," and about half of those say faith is at least somewhat important to them. Atheists or agnostics account for 4 percent of the total population.

The Roman Catholic Church has lost more members than any faith tradition because of affiliation swapping, the survey found. While nearly one in three Americans were raised Catholic, fewer than one in four say they're Catholic today. That means roughly 10 percent of all Americans are ex-Catholics.

The share of the population that identifies as Catholic, however, has remained fairly stable in recent decades thanks to an influx of immigrant Catholics, mostly from Latin America. Nearly half of all Catholics under 30 are Hispanic, the survey found.

On the Protestant side, changes in affiliation are swelling the ranks of nondenominational churches, while Baptist and Methodist traditions are showing net losses.

Many Americans have vague denominational ties at best. People who call themselves "just a Protestant," in fact, account for nearly 10 percent of all Protestants.


Although evangelical churches strive to win new Christian believers from the "unchurched," the survey found most converts to evangelical churches were raised Protestant.

Hindus claimed the highest retention of childhood members, at 84 percent. The group with the worst retention is one of the fastest growing -- Jehovah's Witnesses. Only 37 percent of those raised in the sect known for door-to-door proselytizing said they remain members.

Among other findings involving smaller religious groups, more than half of American Buddhists surveyed were white, and most Buddhists were converts.

More people in the survey pool identified themselves as Buddhist than Muslim, although both populations were small -- less than 1 percent of the total population. By contrast, Jews accounted for 1.7 percent of the overall population.

The self-identified Buddhists -- 0.7 percent of those surveyed -- illustrate a core challenge to estimating religious affiliation: What does affiliation mean?

It's unclear whether people who called themselves Buddhists did so because they practice yoga or meditation, for instance, or claim affiliation with a Buddhist institution.

The report does not project membership figures for religious groups, in part because the survey is not as authoritative as a census and didn't count children, Lugo said. The U.S. Census does not ask questions on religion.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/02/25/religion.survey.ap/index.html