2010 Report on International Religious Freedom - Egypt

November 17, 2010

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, land for the House of Worship, cemeteries, and more.

The government requires all citizens to be categorized as Muslims, Christians, or Jews on national identity cards. Baha'is have been compelled either to misrepresent themselves or to live without valid identity documents.

In 2008 the Cairo Administrative Court ruled in three cases brought by Baha'is that the government must issue official identification documents containing a dash or other mark in the religion field.

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.

According to Baha'i community members, throughout the first half of 2010 the government implemented the order and reportedly issued more than 180 birth certificates and 50 to 60 national identification cards to Baha'is, all with dashes in the religious identification field. The government, because it does not recognize Baha'i marriage, and there is no civil mechanism for marriage, refused to issue identification documents to married Baha'is, unless they would agree to specify their marital status as "unmarried." According to the government, it was attempting to find a mechanism to issue identification documents to married Baha'is that would correctly identify marital status.

While the government complied with court rulings by issuing identity documents with a “dash” for religion to unmarried Baha’i, it continued to refuse to issue marriage certificates. This made it impossible for married members of the Baha'i community to obtain identity documents recognizing their marital status. The government cited its nonrecognition of the Baha'i Faith and the country's lack of a civil marriage mechanism as reasons for the denial.

During the reporting period, the government did not investigate or prosecute the perpetrators of a March 2009 attack on the homes of seven Baha'i families in the village of al-Shuraniya in Sohag Governorate. Muslim villagers, some of them related to the Baha'i villagers, attacked Baha'i houses with bricks and rocks until police dispersed them. On March 31, the attacks escalated when attackers returned and set fire to the homes, forcing the Baha'is to flee.

Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

May 2010

(Covering April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010)

A newly released report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom found a serious problems of discrimination, intolerance, and other human rights violations against members of religious minorities, as well as disfavored Muslims, remain widespread in Egypt. The reporting period marked s significant upsurge in violence targeting Coptic Orthodox Christians.

The report indicated that the Egyptian government has not taken sufficient steps to halt the repression of and discrimination against Christians and other religious believers, or, in many cases, to punish those responsible for violence or other severe violations of religious freedom. This increase in violence, and the failure to prosecute those responsible, fosters a growing climate of impunity. Implementation of previous court rulings - related to granting official identity documents to Baha'is and changing religious affiliation on identity documents for Christian converts - has been limited and subject to onerous delays.

Due to persistent and serious concerns, Egypt remains on USCIRF's Watch List in 2010. Egypt has been on the Watch List since 2002. USCIRF traveled to Egypt in January 2010 to assess religious freedom conditions in the country. The visit took place just weeks after six Coptic Christians and one Muslim were killed outside a church on Coptic Christmas eve in the town of Naga Hammadi. This incident served as a wake-up call to growing sectarian tensions and other religious freedom issues. Other needed reforms also should be immediately implemented, such as removing religion from official identity documents and passing a unified law for the construction and repair of places of worship.

In addition, All Baha'i institutions and community activities have been banned since 1960 by a presidential decree. As a result, Baha'is, who number approximately 2,000 in Egypt, are unable to meet or engage in group religious activities. Over the years, Baha'is have been arrested and imprisoned because of their religious beliefs, often on charges of insulting Islam.

Almost all Baha'i community members are known to the state security services, and many are regularly subject to surveillance and other forms of harassment. Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Center has issued fatwas in recent years urging the continued ban on the Baha'i community and condemning Baha'is as apostates.

Intolerance of Baha'is has increased in both the independent and government-controlled media in recent years. In March 2009, several Baha'i homes in a village in the Sohag province were vandalized by Muslim villagers. Egyptian human rights groups immediately condemned the violence and contended that a contributing factors to the attacks was incitement by a media commentator who, during a television program, labeled an individual member of the Baha'i faith an apostate and called for her to be killed. According to the Egyptian Interior Ministry, several alleged perpetrators were arrested; however, it is unclear if they were released. More than one year after the incident, there has been no investigation or prosecution related to the attacks.

In March 2009, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected a final legal challenge to a 2008 lower court ruling that required the Egyptian government to issue national identification documents to three Baha'i plaintiffs containing a dash or other mark in the space designated for religious affiliation. Until this ruling, identification documents permitted registration in only one of the three officially approved faiths - Islam, Christianity, or Judaism - thereby effectively preventing Baha'is from gaining the official recognition necessary to have access to numerous public services, and without which it is illegal to go out in public.

Since the 2008 decision, the government has issued birth certificates to at least 120 Baha'is, documents which it previously refused to issue. In addition, approximately 20-30 single male and female Baha'is have received identity cards. However, no married couples have been able to received identity cards because the Egyptian government does not recognize Baha'i marriages. Over the past few years, some Baha'is lost their jobs and a few young Baha'is were dismissed from universities because they did not have identity cards.

Muslims Villagers attack homes of Baha'is in Egypt

Burning Baha'i homes in Egypt

Assaults committed against Egyptian Baha'is over the past several days in the southern City of Sohag. In a complaint filed in April 02, 2009 the Egyptian Baha'is 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 attacks began on Saturday evening, March 28, 2009 in the village of al-Shuraniya, located in the Maragha district of Sohag, when dozens of Muslims 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 the Baha'i Houses.

On March 31, 2009 at approximately 7 pm, the attacks escalated when some Muslims residents of the village 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 Baha'is said that the attackers broke or disabled the water connections to their homes to prevent them from putting out the fires. The Muslims attackers also broke into the Baha'is houses, vandalizing property inside and stealing some electrical appliances and livestock.

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 dispersed the Muslim attackers; there was no information that any of the attackers had been arrested.

In April 01, 2009 the Egyptian 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 forced to leave their own houses and move to another City 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 TV Channel Dream 2 on March 28, 2009 which discussed the Baha'i New Year celebration . The program featured a Baha'i from al-Shuraniya and Baha'i activist and dentistry professor Dr. Basma Musa. Also participating in the program a Muslim Journalist Gamal Abd al-Rahim that pronouncing all Baha'is as apostates and urges their killing.

Gamal Abd al-Rahim during the program, said referring to Dr. Basma, "This one should be killed." On March 31, only hours before the homes of the Baha'is were torched in al-Shuraniya, al-Gomhouriya an Egyptian Newspaper 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 Islam religion and beliefs."

The Muslim leader, who claimed responsibility for the attack, is named Mohammad Youssry Mohammad. He identifies himself as the secretary of the youth committee of the village's National Party (al- Hezb al-Watany) and a teacher in the Islam religious institute of the village.

Update: Media coverage
El Gazira Channel

El Mohawar Channel, 48 Hours Program:

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

Lebanon moves to tackle religious discrimination

Lebanon dispenses citizens from revealing their religious affiliation on civil registry records.


middle east online
BEIRUT - Lebanon's Interior Minister Ziad Baroud issued a memorandum this week dispensing citizens from revealing their religious affiliation on civil registry records.
The memo issued on Wednesday states that in future anyone can cross out their confessional identity from official records and replace it with a slash sign.

Rights groups had been pushing for such a measure since the end of Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war when many were killed at roadblocks based on the religion noted on their ID cards.
Although new ID cards issued since the end of the civil war do not mention religious affiliation, it remained obligatory to state one's religion on civil registry records.

Baroud said his decision is in line with the Lebanese constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Religion plays a key role in Lebanon, which has no less than 18 different recognised religious groups.

Tradition holds that the head of state must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.
The 128 seats in parliament are also allocated to represent the different religious groups.

خطوة اجرائية متواضعة ضد الطائفية في لبنان

الداخلية اللبنانية تجيز الغاء القيد الطائفي في سجلات النفوس في بلد ينتهج التوزيع الطائفي في دوائر السياسة والادارة

ميدل ايست اونلاين

بيروت - اصدر وزير الداخلية اللبناني زياد بارود الاربعاء تعميما يجيز عدم التصريح عن القيد الطائفي في سجلات النفوس او شطبه، في مبادرة تبقى رمزية في بلد يعتمد التوزيع الطائفي في كل الادارات ومراكز المسؤولية والقرار.
ويطلب التعميم الصادر عن الوزير من المديرية العامة للاحوال الشخصية "قبول عدم تصريح صاحب العلاقة عن القيد الطائفي وقبول طلبات شطب القيد الطائفي من سجلات النفوس".
واضاف "في حال عدم التصريح عن القيد او طلب شطبه، تدون اشارة '/' في الخانة المخصصة للمذهب في قيود الاحوال الشخصية العائدة لصاحب العلاقة".
وكانت السلطات اللبنانية الغت بعد انتهاء الحرب الاهلية في لبنان (1975-1990) والتي اعتبرت العصبية الطائفية احد اسبابها الرئيسية، ذكر الطائفة على بطاقات الهوية في لبنان.
يذكر ان قانون الاحوال الشخصية في لبنان بما فيه الزواج والطلاق والارث ترعاه الطوائف.
ويخوض عدد من الاحزاب والجمعيات في المجتمع المدني معركة منذ سنوات طويلة من اجل اقرار قانون مدني للاحوال الشخصية لا سيما الاعتراف بالزواج المدني. ومعلوم ان الكثير من اللبنانيين العلمانيين او الذين يتزوجون من طوائف اخرى غير طوائفهم ينتقلون الى قبرص لعقد زواج مدني ثم يقومون بتسجيل الزواج في لبنان.
وكان المحامي زياد بارود ناشطا في المجتمع المدني قبل ان يصبح وزيرا.
وكرس اتفاق الطائف الذي وضع حدا للحرب الاهلية في لبنان الطائفية في الرئاسات الثلاث: المارونية لرئاسة الدولة، والشيعية لرئاسة المجلس النيابي، والسنية لرئاسة الحكومة.
كما ان مقاعد المجلس النيابي موزعة مناصفة بين المسلمين والمسيحيين، وكذلك المناصب الرئيسية في الادارات والوزارات.
وفي عمليات الاقتراع التي تنظم في لبنان، يتم وضع اسم المذهب على الاقلام، بمعنى ان كل ناخب يصوت في القلم العائد لمذهبه.

منظمة مراقبة حقوق الإنسان تصف القرار القاضي بعدم ذكر المذهب على الهوية اللبنانية بـ"خطوة إيجابية" لكن غير كافية
موقع كوبتريال الاخبارى
أصدرت منظمة مراقبة حقوق الإنسان هيومن رايتس واتش بيانا رحبت فيه بقرار وزير الداخلية اللبناني زياد بارود المتعلق بعدم ذكر المذهب على الهوية اللبنانية، إذا ما شاء صاحب العلاقة ذلك. واعتبرت المنظمة الحقوقية أن القرار يشكل خطوة إيجابية، لكنها دعت الحكومة اللبنانية إلى اتخاذ مزيد من الخطوات المماثلة وإلى صياغة قانون موحد للأحوال الشخصية يتساوى أمامه جميع المواطنين اللبنانيين بغض النظر عن انتماءاتهم الدينية.

وكان وزير الداخلية اللبنانية قد اتخذ هذا القرار لأيام خلت مشيرا إلى أنه يندرج في إطار احترام الدستور اللبناني، والإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسان والمعاهدات الإنسانية الدولية التي أبرمتها الحكومات اللبنانية السابقة.
وقال بهذا الصدد الباحث في منظمة هيومن رايتس واتش نديم حوري: ينبغي أن يعامَل جميع اللبنانيين بشكل متساو لاسيما فيما يتعلق بالقوانين المدنية التي تنظم مسألتي الزواج والإرث. وأشار إلى ضرورة أن تتلاءم كل القوانين اللبنانية مع المعايير الدولية، كي لا يتعرض أي مواطن للتمييز على أساس الدين أو الجنس.

ودعا المسؤول في منظمة مراقبة حقوق الإنسان السلطات اللبنانية إلى إصلاح قانون الأحوال الشخصية اللبناني كي لا يرضخ المواطنون لتشريعات دينية لم يختاروها بحرية.

يُذكر هنا أن جمعيات أهلية لبنانية أطلقت في السنوات الماضية حملات للمطالبة باعتماد الزواج المدني في لبنان، لكن جهودها باءت بالفشل