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Religious Freedom Sweeping Egypt - Baha'i Kind Of Allowed To Be Citizens, Attend Schools (Plus: But If You're An Ex-Muslim Apostate You're Still Hosed)

Peaceful coexistance

It's a lower administrative court. And they're not allowed to actually identify themselves as Baha'i. But it's kind of like religious freedom:

The Court of Administrative Justice in Cairo upheld arguments made in two cases concerning Baha'is who have sought to restore their full citizenship rights by asking that they be allowed to leave the religious affiliation field blank on official documents... The decisions today concerned two cases, both filed by Baha'is, over the issue of how they are to be identified on government documents. The first case involves a lawsuit by the father of twin children, who is seeking to obtain proper birth certificates for them. The second concerns a college student, who needs a national identity card to re-enroll in university. The government requires all identification papers to list religious affiliation but restricts the choice to the three officially recognized religions -- Islam, Christianity, and Judaism... Without national identify cards -- or, as in the case of the twin children, birth certificates -- Baha'is and others caught in the law's contradictory requirements are deprived of a wide range of citizenship rights, such as access to employment, education, and medical and financial services... In both cases, lawyers representing the Baha'is have made it clear that they were willing to settle for cards or documents on which the religious affiliation field is left blank or filled in, perhaps, as "other."

Baha'is are regularly discriminated against in Egypt and Iran. The mullahs in Iran regularly carry out literal campaigns of extermination, carving "enemy of Islam" into the men, women, and children that they murder.

In contrast, the gigantic Baha'i World Centre - the administrative and religious center of the faith - dominates Mt. Carmel in Haifa, Israel. It's one of over a dozen religions that coexist just within the city's limits. But Israel is the Middle Eastern country that discriminates against other religions and Zionism is racism. Obviously.

Especially since their Don't Ask Don't Tell policy toward the religion of people who were born Baha'i is about as free as they're going to get about religion:

Once a Muslim, always a Muslim... The ten Egyptian Coptic Christians, who after having converted to Islam decided to return to their original faith, will remain Muslims at least on paper for the rest of their lives. A Cairo court has ruled that the ministry of the interior is not obliged to issue them new identity documents. The question of religious belief in Egypt often presents itself as an adminsitrative rather than a spiritual issue given that every Egyptian has an ID card which states his or her religion... the ten Copt converts, after having rejected Islam and returned to Christianity, with a public ceremony, asked the ministry for new ID documents. But the ministry refused, on the grounds that according to Sharia law it was impossible to renounce the Islamic faith.

Obviously.

References:
* Baha' News: Egypt court upholds Baha'i plea in religious freedom cases [Worldwide Faith News]
* Persecution Of Baha'is In Egypt and Iran Fails To Gain International Attention [Video] [MR]
* Egypt: Converted-back Copts must stay Muslim [Robert Spencer]

Previously:
* Egypt Promises To Fulfill Treaty Obligations - Later
* Egypt To Build Multiple Nuclear Reactors
* It's Official: Egypt Embracing Hamas Through Contacts, Prisoner Releases

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