In April 2004 my wife and I traveled to Egypt on our honeymoon, we stayed in Cairo and Luxor visiting ancient sites. We took a bare minimum of Baha’i literature with us, a couple of prayer books and a selection of Baha’i Writings, and we didn’t mention our religion to anybody.
While the historical treasures of Egypt are intriguing we were quite surprised at the widespread lack of respect that people had for us and for the name of Islam. Men often pushed Ladan with their shoulders in disgust, she felt, of her western dress as they walked past her. People tried to solicit extortionate amounts of money from us at every turn, even at mosques, often using trickery and lies. I will never forget the man who insisted he knew a short cut to the Egyptian museum and walked us on a long detour repeating continuously that because of his Muslim Faith he loved to help out visitors. Having walked us half a mile to a point 20 meters further down the road from where we had started he pointed in the direction of the museum and wanted payment for his “Muslim” act of kindness.
Although we returned from Egypt with some amazing memories and photos the enjoyment was somewhat dampened by the fact that we felt we had not been treated so much as humans but rather as some sort of third class citizens unworthy of being treated with honesty or respect. This is not to say that we did not meet some very nice people too, but it was clear that the demeaning treatment we received was seen as acceptable treatment of outsiders visiting the country. I was unsure if the lack of respect we received was down to us being tourists or non-Muslims, but something seemed to give people the feeling that they had a genuine right to treat us as lesser people.
With this experience in our past I have been somewhat glued to the “Baha’i Faith in Egypt” blog for many months (authored by Bilo, pictured right as a younger man). It is the first blog I check in the mornings for updates. In Egypt there is actually a debate over whether or not followers of the Baha’i Faith should have the same rights as citizens who follow Islam or a religion that preceded Islam. While the idea that Baha’is should not have equal rights may be prevalent in many other Islamic countries, the debate in Egypt is very open and can be read about in public newspapers or even seen on television.
The bulk of the debate centres around the Egyptian ID card, a central element to the rights of Egyptian citizens, which includes on it the religion of the holder. Baha’is cannot have an ID card with “Baha’i” listed on it as The Baha’i Faith is not recognised as a religion in Egypt.
The debate started becoming more public when a Baha’i couple in Egypt won the rights in a court to have their religion correctly identified on their ID cards. The government appealed against the decision and the Supreme Administrative Court were set to hear the case on 19th June. The case has been repeatedly postponed as the government have not managed to prepare a required report on the matter before any of the dates set for the case. The hearing is now set to be re-convened on 20th November this year.
Since that first hearing there have been newspaper articles published against the Baha’is, there was a book published in June which called for action against the Baha’i Faith and even appeared to call for the killing of Baha’is. A conference was held in Cairo at the start of August to look at the possibility of removing religion from ID cards which gave rise to some further tv and newspaper coverage of the Baha’i human rights issue. The articles in the media seem to have become clearer that the choice for Egypt is between accepting the universally accepted stand-point that all human beings should have the same basic rights, or being seen as a sectarian society where a person’s religion can cause them to lose their human rights.
Recently the author of the book published against the Baha’is in June filed a formal complaint to Egypt’s Attorney General suggesting that the Baha’is were defaming him by stating what they had read in his book. In response Egypt’s Baha’is have now issued a formal complaint to President Mubarak accusing the author of fabrication and forgery.
The “Baha’i Faith in Egypt” blog makes this whole story accessible to non-Arabic speakers outside Egypt who are concerned for the Baha’is and/or human rights. While relatively small in number, the Egyptian Baha’is appear to have brought serious deep-seated beliefs and values into the spotlight for analysis. One can only hope and pray that humanity wins over fanaticism in this debate which lies so close to the hearts of many on both sides of the argument.
Link: The Baha’i Faith in Egypt (blog)
Link: Situation of the Baha’is in Egypt
this is the look that is described as bright and it always seems encouraging to see it. Several people have commented that Ladan is looking good and seems to be using her eyes more at the moment, often apparently following things in the room. A few people who had not seen ladan or a while, medical staff and family/friends, have also commented they they perceive an encouraging improvement during their absence.
Being Fooled by the Signs
October 9, 2006 in Comment, Diary, Humour | No comments
Over the weekend I made a brief trip to the South East corner of the country to meet my Mum at Heathrow airport and bring a car load of our belongings back with me. I set off from Ladan’s room at just after 6am and enjoyed the wide empty roads before me as the crisp light of dawn arose around me.
When I was about a third of the way down the country a sign above the almost deserted motorway informed me that there was a queue ahead and that I should slow down to 40mph. Sceptically, I started slowing down only to find that the next overhead sign, just around a bend from the first, said “End” meaning that I had passed the congestion.
I wondered, for a moment, what had prompted the sign to flash such an unlikely warning at me, before forgetting about it and pondering more interesting and important facts such as when and where I would get my breakfast. However, it was not to be the only overhead sign to flash nonsense warnings at me during my 14 hours of driving that weekend, I was warned numerous times of imminent danger by overhead signs on the A1(M), the M1 and the M25 and on every single occasion the warning was false.
There were a couple of occasions on the M25 where it is possible the traffic conditions had been different a few minutes earlier, but for the most part the warning signs were not just wrong they were verging on the impossible. The last instance of this that I experienced was on my way back where a sign warned of congestion ahead and suggested I slow down to 50mph, doubtful I ignored it and decided that I would only take notice if the next sign repeated the warning and recommended a drop to 40mph… actually the next sign did repeat the warning and suggested 30mph. The road was flowing so well that with all my experience of false signs I merely ensured I wasn’t above the speed limit, then the next sign was blank. Either it wasn’t playing along with the previous signs or it knew that nobody was taking any notice and took a “What’s the point?” attitude to giving any kind of warning. Of course, there were no delays and the next sign said “End”.
I am reminded of the parable of the boy who cried wolf. During my journey I saw a few accidents and delays on the opposite carriageway. One man I saw sent a cloud of smoke across the road as he burned his tyres coming to a sudden stop from over 70mph… had he seen a warning sign about queues ahead or were they only telling lies this weekend, or had he indeed seen so many false warnings that he had decided not to take any notice anymore.
I have no idea why the overhead warning signs were so outrageously wrong this weekend, but it is dangerous for them to be so. The overhead signs are a means of communicating important information to drivers but if the drivers lose their trust in the communications they are receiving then the communication becomes useless and it can no longer be used to improve safety on the road.
I had intended to get back to the old flat, pack our remaining things and give it a good tidy before collecting my Mum from Heathrow airport. I had forgotten how much stuff was still there and so I didn’t even finish the packing part, though I did pack as much as I would be able to bring back the following day. My Mum is in the country for a few weeks and should be coming up to Newcastle to visit me here soon. On Sunday morning I had the pleasure of seeing my brother Robert, his partner Anne and my nephew Finlay for the first time in over a year. It was a relatively short time before I felt the need to get back on the road but it was really great to see them all. Finlay is so very cute and cheerful.
Unfortunately I will need to make another visit to the flat to get the rest of our things from there, I had hoped this trip (my second quick visit) would be the last so that next time I go south I might just spend my time visiting friends or family rather than packing and loading. Hopefully the next trip will be the last.
Tags: motoring, speed