EGYPT HEARING HIGHLIGHTS ID CARD DISCRIMINATION FOR BAHA'IS
CAIRO, 23 August 2006 (BWNS) --
The Egyptian government's controversial
policy that requires citizens to list their religion on national
identification cards, while also limiting the choice to one of just
three
official religions, was the focus of a major symposium here in
August.
The event drew considerable attention to the plight of the Baha'is
in
Egypt, who endure discrimination under the policy. It forces them to
either lie about their religion and illegally falsify their
religious
affiliation -- or go without ID cards, which are necessary to access
virtually all rights of citizenship here.
Held on 8 August 2006 by National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), a
state-funded, advisory body to the government on human rights
issues, the
symposium heard testimony from a wide variety of civil society
groups,
official governmental agencies and ministries, as well as the Baha'i
community of Egypt.
"Baha'is face a daily struggle now," said Dr. Basma Moussa, the
Baha'i
representative, explaining that without valid ID cards Baha'is
cannot
register for school, attend university, address questions on
military
service, apply for jobs, process banking transactions, or properly
receive salaries.
Dr. Moussa said both international agreements and Egyptian law,
however, guarantee freedom of religion or belief, and that the
administrative
issues surrounding the ID card limitations could easily be solved by
adopting alternatives, such as leaving the section blank or simply
allowing a fourth choice of "other" in the religion identification
field.
Some 160 people were present at the symposium, representing not only
some 57 civil society and non-governmental organizations, but also
prominent thinkers and various representatives from the government,
including
the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of External Affairs, the
Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, and the Egyptian
Parliament. Eighty participants presented testimony.
The event was introduced by former UN Secretary General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, who is currently president of the NCHR, and it drew
wide
publicity in Egyptian news media.
"The purpose of the event was basically to put the issue on the
agenda,
and in this sense it was successful," said Hossam Bahgat, director
of
the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an independent
Egyptian human rights organization. "It is a highly symbolic
gesture, and a
positive development."
In April, the issue of religious affiliation on identification cards
became the focus of increasing controversy when an administrative
court
ruled that Baha'is should also be allowed to state their religion on
government documents.
Fundamentalist Islamic groups decried the April ruling, while human
rights organizations praised it. The Supreme Administrative Court is
now
set to hold a hearing on the government's appeal of the Baha'i case
in
September.
At present, government policy allows only the listing of Islam,
Christianity and Judaism, the three officially recognized religions,
on ID
cards and other documents.
The NCHR symposium sought to address this limitation -- and it was
also
marked by an airing of all sides of the issue. Representatives of
fundamentalist Islamic groups urged the government to keep its
current
policy, saying "public order" might be adversely affected if other
religions
were allowed to be listed or the listing was abolished entirely.
Among the concerns expressed by Islamic groups was a fear that any
change would affect various issues relating to marriage, divorce,
and
inheritance, which are governed by each religious community here.
Other groups, including representatives of the Coptic Christians and
various national human rights organizations, urged a change in the
policy, saying the current policy is at odds with international law -
- and
moral conscience -- relating to the freedom of religion or belief.
Dr. Gamal el-Banna, an Islamic thinker and scholar, said for example
that "the case of religious belief is a personal matter, which has
no
connection to public order, and that no one should interfere with it.
"We should be examining the standards of ignorance and prejudice, as
well as the publications that darken our lives," he said, according
to
published accounts. "Omitting religion from ID cards would neither
lead
to progress nor regress."
Dr. Boutros-Ghali, in an opening statement, noted that "the three
major
religions represent less than 50 percent of world religions, but
other
religions account for 51 percent of recognized religions."
"In the upcoming years Egypt will face further conflicts in
religious
relations, and newer religions will require recognition as they
appear,
so we should either approve and recognize all religions or eliminate
religious classification from ID cards," said Dr. Boutros-Ghali,
according to published accounts.
The recent introduction of a computerized card system that locks out
any religious identification other than the three officially
recognized
religions has made the problem worse for Baha'is, who were
previously
able to find clerks who might at least leave the religion field
blank in
old style paper ID cards.
Not only are Baha'is prohibited by their beliefs from lying, but it
is
a crime to provide false information on any official document here.
Thus, unable to morally or legally list one of the three recognized
religions, Baha'is are now prevented from obtaining new cards, and
they are
as a community gradually being deprived of nearly all the rights of
citizenship.
In her presentation of the Baha'i view, Dr. Moussa, an assistant
professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Cairo University,
read six
pages of testimony before the Council.
Her testimony focused on the degree to which international law and
the
Egyptian constitution uphold the right to freedom of religion or
belief. In particular, she said, Articles 40 and 46 of the Egyptian
constitution both grant the freedom of religious practice and
belief, as well as
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which
Egypt
has signed.
In view of these laws, Dr. Moussa said, "it is obvious that limiting
the religions on the ID card to the three [official religions]
interferes
with the freedom of those who believe in religions other than those.
"In these cases, it is as if you are forcing a religion on the ID
card
holder, which is counter to what the law and the constitution state,
and it goes against international human rights."
Dr. Moussa also said there have been cases in other official
documents,
such as birth and death certificates, where Baha'is have been
identified as Baha'is -- or where the field has simply been left
blank. "These
alternatives prove to us that it can be done."
She added that in other countries where Muslims are not in the
majority, "they expect, and rightfully so, that their rights will be
fully
provided for. This, and no more, is what Baha'is are asking for."
"We are asking that, on official papers, you either list 'Baha'i,'
or
'other,' or a 'dash' -- or just leave it blank," said Dr.
Moussa. "This
is actually all that we have asked of governmental agencies over the
last few years."
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