Egyptian Government Appeals Ruling Recognizing Bahai

In Egypt, the Interior Ministry yesterday filed an appeal asking the Supreme Administrative Court to reverse a ruling issued last month by a lower court recognizing the right of Bahais to have their religion acknowledged on official documents, including national identity cards. Reuters reports that the appeal was filed after many in Parliament argued that only religions recognized by Sunni Islam should appear on official government documents. That approach would limit the religions that could appear on official documents to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The Interior Ministry suggests that adherents of other faiths should merely draw a line through the section of their national identity cards that calls for an indication of the individual's religion.