Religious liberty in Egypt
United Copts GB
Religious liberty in Egypt in general is giving rise to grave concern. Converts to Christianity have to live a life of constant fear for their children lives and themselves on the run all the time like fugitives, deprived from jobs, source of income surviving severe social pressures and threats from extremists Muslims whom they know are protected by some elements in the State Security Intelligence Service police.
Government agencies, in particular the police and the judiciary show a pattern of behaviour and attitude that could be described at best complacency, and at worst collusion here is some of the most recent examples. On Monday 4th August 2008, after 34 years of practicing Christianity, 57-year-old Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary filed a case at the State Council Court to replace the word “Muslim” on his identification card with “Christian.”
On the first day of hearing on 22nd Feb 2009 large number of Islamic Lawyers attended the hearing and urged Death Sentence for Egyptian Convert Link as a result, Maher el-Gowhary went into hiding him and his 15 years old daughter had to keep changing their residence since.
Maher El Gohary is something his Muslim compatriots can’t fathom: a convert to Christianity. He and his daughter live like fugitives, moving frequently to avoid those who’d like to see him dead link Maher el-Gowhary was baptised in the Roman Catholic Church of Cyprus, he produced his certificate of baptism as requested by the judge. To their surprise, ruling said that the court does not recognize the Roman Catholic Church of Cyprus as it is not 'authorized' in Egypt The Judge refused a certificate of baptism from the Greek Orthodox Church in Cyprus link , the judge asked for a certificate from the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church. Subsequently and for the first time, Egypt church issues first conversion certificate link church issues first conversion certificate link
On 13th June 2009 in the final hearing, the judge Hamdi Yaseen rejected Maher Ahmed Al-Mo’tasem Bellah Al-Gohari application to change his religious affiliation from Muslim to Christian on his ID card Link. What is so disturbing too was the statement by the judge that conversion to Christianity Threatens Public Order!!!. Link
Maher and his 15-year-old daughter, Dina, who also embraced Christianity wanted to travel abroad but were prevented by Cairo airport authorities from travelling to China on 17th September 2009, on a two-week holiday link and a week later, on second attempt to travel his passport was confiscated and now he is living in hiding with his daughter in fear see Fox news report Link and Washington Times link.
Now Maher and Dina asked President Obama for help as they fear for their lives Link On 13 April 2009 the Egyptian police arrested Mrs. Raheal Henen Mussa formally known as Samr Mohamed Hansen at the airport while trying to escape and her family’s attempts to kill her because of her conversion to Christianity LinkThe judge presiding in the case of Martha Samuel Makkar, an Egyptian who sued for official recognition of her conversion from Islam to Christianity stated that he wanted to kill her, according to her lawyer. An earlier report said that she was raped and beaten while in custody. Now she has been granted bail by a judge who apparently wants her dead.
In February 2008, in an important case, Egypt’s highest court reversed a lower court’s ruling prohibiting citizens from returning to Christianity after converting to Islam. However, in this case of 12 people allowed to return to Christianity after converting earlier to Islam, the court ruled that while their religious affiliation on identity documents can be changed to “Christian,” the documents must also refer to each individual as a “formerly declared Muslim,” thus potentially opening a new justification for police harassment and/or continued prejudicial treatment by officials responsible for providing public services, as well as societal violence.
Shortly afterwards judge Mohammed El-Hussini took article 47 of the personal status law under which they were allowed to return to Christianity to the Supreme Constitutional Court case (no. 92/30) seeking a ruling on the constitutionality of the law article. That article allows citizens to change their religion on official documents without restriction subsequently the earlier decision of the court allowing returnees to become Christians is now frozen. Link.
In a ruling in January 2008, an Egyptian court denied the right of Mohammed Hegazy to change his identity card to reflect his conversion to Christianity from Islam. Citing Article 2 of the Egyptian constitution, which says that Islamic Shari’a law is the principal source of legislation, the judge ruled that since Hegazy was born Muslim and Islam is the “final and most complete religion,” "Islam is the final and most complete religion and therefore Muslims already practice full freedom of religion and cannot convert to an older belief" Link.
Hegazy, who has been subjected to death threats for trying to exercise the right to choose his religion freely, is the first convert to Christianity to sue the Egyptian government for officially rejecting his application to change his religious affiliation on identity documents. Link
In October 2008 an innocent Christian priest Father Metaa’os Wahba was given maximum sentence of imprisonment for falsifying official documents of 5 years.
Fr. Metaa’os did not know that that when he married an ex Muslim lady to a Christian man that she converted from Islam to Christianity 5 years earlier besides hundreds or thousands of Christian women convert to Islam every year and the ceremony of marriage would have extra cerebration for the conversion of the bride from Islam, while a Muslim person does not have the same chance of conversion to Christianity. There is no legal mean for Muslims to convert to Christianity if they wish as we saw earlier.
When the Egyptian government is going to respect the Religious Liberties of its Christian people? When the Egyptian government is going to stop persecuting Christians for their faith either by collusion with Islamists or by turning a blind eye to their persecutors?