Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court today ruled against Egyptian Bahais' right to be identified by their proper religion on government documents. Ekklesia says that the decision, which reverses a lower Administrative Court, "upholds current government policy, one which forces the Baha'is either to lie about their religious beliefs or give up their state identification cards. The policy effectively deprives Egyptian Bahais of access to most rights of citizenship, including education, financial services, and even medical care."
Middle East Online reports that Judge Sayed Nofal said: "the constitution promotes freedom of belief for the three recognized heavenly religions and they are Islam, Christianity and Judaism. As for the Bahais, Islamic jurists have all agreed that the Bahai faith is not one of the threerecognizedd religions. Those who belong to this religion are apostates of Islam, because the faith's principles contradict the Islamic religion and all other religions." (See prior posting on lower court decision.) The case began when a Bahai couple applied to have their daughters added to their passports that listed their faith as Bahai. Human rights organizations condemned today's decision, but many in Parliament support it. (See prior posting.) The case is seen by many as an important test of religious freedom in Egypt.
UPDATE: UPI reports on Monday that the U.S. State Department has criticized the decision of Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court.
