The article below summarizes the conditions and sufferings of the Baha'is in Egypt. Wrote by Gamal Nkrumah in Al Ahram Weekly on Dec 27th. see the link for more info.
"....The Baha'i community is generally among the most prosperous and law-abiding in many countries around the world and not only in the West.... Amid confusion and half-truths, the controversy surrounding the nature of the Baha'is of Egypt continues unabated.
As far as the Christian communities of Egypt are concerned, the most pressing issue is full citizenship and civil rights. The same goes for the Baha'i community in Egypt today. "The crux of the matter is our struggle for official recognition as Egyptians and for full citizenship rights," Labib Iskandar, a leading Egyptian Baha'i, and a professor of engineering at Cairo University told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We move about without personal identification cards. That is a criminal offence in Egypt. We could be stopped by police at any moment, anywhere and asked for our ID," he explained. The removal of religious affiliation slot on computerised ID cards has become not only a question of priority for the Baha'i community, but has also been advocated by non-other an influential organisation than the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR).
"Inability to produce an ID card entails a five-year prison sentence. Still, we have faith in the legal system," Basma Moussa, a dentist and an assistant lecturer at Cairo University, yet another outspoken Egyptian Baha'i concurred. Moussa, a vociferous spokeswoman on the plight of Egypt's Baha'is, told the Weekly that the conditions of Baha'is in Egypt has become untenable. "I am a university professor but cannot even withdraw money from my bank account because I do not have an ID card. I cannot even buy or register a car," she complained. "Worse, there are many Baha'i youngsters who cannot even enroll at schools or universities because they do not have birth certificates or ID cards. This causes serious psychological traumas. It is most distressing for the parents and disheartening for the youth. The right to education is a particularly important human right," she explained. "All Baha'i children born in 2004 and afterwards cannot have birth certificates. Shall we lie about our religion in order to secure false birth certificates," she demanded in desperation............."
Human Rights are GOD given rights and Egyptian Baha'is are asking for their rights especially when they are Law-abiding citizens. We wish that 2008 will shower our beloved Egypt with justice, unity and prosperity.
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