Source: Baha’i Faith in Egypt (blog)

The Supreme Administrative Court in Egypt met today, December 2nd, to finally hear an appeal by the Interior Ministry against a lower court’s decision to allow Baha’is to state their religion on official documents. A decision has been postponed until 16th December.

On the 4th April this year a court found in favour of a Baha’i couple who filed a case to be allowed to name their religion as Baha’i after their identity documents were confiscated by the state because the Baha’i Faith is not one of the religions recognised in Egypt. On 15th May this decision was suspended by the Supreme Administrative Court pending a fuller hearing in response to an appeal by the Interior Ministry.

The appeal hearing has been postponed several times and the case has gained a great deal of interest over the last six months, highlighting the fact that Baha’is are denied many rights in Egypt as they are not permitted to fill out their identity documents honestly. This situation has existed since 2004 when the Interior Ministry ruled that only one of the three officially recognised religions may be stated in the ‘Religion’ section of official documents,.

Links:
BWNS – Egypt court sets date for full hearing on Baha’i case
Baha’i Faith in Egypt – Supreme Court Postpones Decision