CAIRO, 16 May 2006 (IRIN) – “Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court decided on 15 May to suspend the implementation of an earlier lower court ruling that allowed Bahais to have their religion recognised on official documents.”
Link: Full story from IRIN
On 4 April, a ruling was passed in an Egyptian court that a Bahai couple could cite their religion as Baha’i on their official documentation. The government quickly issued an appeal against the decision as they do not recognise the Baha’i Faith as a religion.
There have been articles in Egypt focussing on the fact that the Baha’i World Centre is in Israel and suggesting that Baha’is are therefore a threat to their national security. There are a couple of blog entries on “Baha’i Blog” that look at the situation in some more detail.
Link: [“Baha’i Blog”] Egypt Update
Link: [“Baha’i Blog”] More from Egypt
Egyptian Baha’is are exemplary in their patience. They are only seeking the rights of citizen of any country: the right of belief and the right to have a required ID which is essential to functioning in Egyptian society. These rights are denied them for no reason other than their religious beliefs.
It is time they obtain the required documents as other Egyptian citizens.
There is a fairly good story that shows the way in which Baha’is are denied the right to have ID cards here