CAIRO: It is a story long discussed, long debated and often controversial. Egyptians are not big fans of the Baha’i community. But after years of judicial wrangling, Baha’is in Egypt received some glimmer of hope this year that the tide was moving in their favor. A court case over proper governmental identification papers ended with a favorable ruling that allowed the religious community to leave the religion portion of their ID’s blank.
Earlier this year, the Egyptian Baha’i community ushered in a new era for identification cards in the country after the first batch of the religious minority was granted new ID’s without a religion written on them. The move comes after years of struggling against the state in order not to choose one of the “big three” religions Judiasm, Christianity or Islam.
The new ID’s come months after an Egyptian court granted the Baha’i community the right not to list a false religion on the paperwork, something the small minority community had been pushing for in recent years after discrimination has been reported.
The case, which was closely watched by human rights groups here and abroad, effectively discriminated against the 2000 strong Baha’i community in the country. The initial court decision upheld government policy to denies Baha’is the right to receive identification cards, birth certificates, education and even medical care, unless they lie about their religious beliefs.
The lawsuit against the government was filed by a married couple, Hussam Izzat Musa and Ranya Enayat Rushdy, who wanted to add their daughters to their passports, which had listed the Baha’i Faith as their religion.
The couple won the initial case against the government, which granted them the ability to register their children in schools, receive marriage licenses, birth certificates and proclaim their faith on state identification cards.
“We were ecstatic about the case that allowed our community to be fully accepted Egyptians,” says one married Baha’i man, after the initial court victory. His optimism was short-lived, however, as the government appealed and won, leaving the community struggling to find a place in Egyptian society. Until this year, when a final verdict granted Baha’is the right to leave the religion portion of their official papers blank.
Egyptians are forced to have religion noted on their identity cards. Previously, Baha’is were had to choose between Islam, Christianity or Judaism in order to receive official documents, including birth certificates and passports. Many of them took their cases to court, claiming that they’d rather leave the religion slot blank than choose a religion other than their own. The court, in March, agreed, and said they could leave the category blank in a move widely praised by religious advocacy groups in the country.
Most observers estimate there are around 2,000 Baha’is in Egypt, although the exact figure is unknown.
The Baha’i Faith is the most recent, established in 1863, monotheistic religion. It originates from Iran and believes in the progressive revelations of God. Baha’is believe that all religions are true and from God, but that at different times throughout human history, a new manifestation (prophet) is needed in order to adapt to the changing times and cultural traditions.
The main conflict between Muslims and Baha’is is in the idea that Mohamed is not the final prophet of God, which has led to Muslims distrusting Baha’is.
In December 2003, Al Azhar Research Academy, the most authoritative Sunni institution in the world, issued a fatwa against the Bahá’í Faith. It stated that Islam does not recognize any religion other than those that the Holy Qur’an has asked to be respected. The fatwa specified the Bahá’í Faith, stating that the “Bahá’í creed and its likes are intellectual epidemics that should be fought and eliminated by the state.”
The recent move to issue new IDs has left some worried that it will only heighten the problems facing the religious minority since police and officials will know immediately who is Baha’i by the absence of religion on their card.
“It is not good because it will continue this problem of hate in the country,” said leading Muslim Brotherhood blogger Abdel Rahman Mansour in a previous interview. He called for Egypt to end the government’s role in involving itself with religion on any level.
“It seems to be a waste of time for them and it only causes problems, so if the state just dropped all these issues, it might be better for Egypt in the long run,” he added.
Now, with Baha’is being permitted to move forward in their daily lives, at least on some level, they are hopeful that the stigma surrounding their community will dissipate and allow them to exist as equal Egyptian citizens.
Even as they celebrate the victory and look toward 2010, violence persists against the group. In August, some 50 villagers were arrested after demonstrating against what the rehousing of Baha’is in their village, a security official told the local media.
The move to “rehouse” the Baha’is came after they had been forced from their homes after neighbors set fire to four of the small minority community’s houses.
“Three days ago, rumours began circulating about the resettling of the Sharoniyah Bahais in Ezba,” another village in the southern province of Sohag, the official was quoted by AFP as saying.
“Furious, the villagers protested. Sohag Governor Mohsen al-Noamani denied that the people being relocated are Bahais, saying they were people whose homes had collapsed and had in any case they been moved to a different village,” the official said.
When the protests began to get out of hand, police feared violence and arrested at least 50 of them. The small community hopes 2010 will see a renewed sense of tolerance in the country.
“We are hopeful that the problems of years past can be ended and we will be seen as true Egyptians, because that is what we are,” said Hossam Ali.
