CAIRO: On Tuesday, a Cairo court suspended a lawsuit filed by 27-year-old Mohamed Hegazy that he had hoped would give him the right to list “Christian” on his national identification cards. The court said that they could not rule on the case until the country's Constitutional Court gave a ruling on the constitutionality of a 2009 case on Article 47 of the Civil Code, which is supposed to allow citizens the right to change their name and religion on ID material. Hegazy's situation is the most high-profile case of a Muslim man who converted to Christianity. He wants to have this officially documented to the government, but has run against a number of road blocks in his fight for freedom of religion. His lawyers told local newspapers that the most likely scenario will mean years of litigation as the government continues to push the case aside in favor of “appeasing Islamists” in the country. Under Article 47 of Egypt's Civil Code, citizens are allowed to change their religion, however Article 2 states that Islam is the “religion of the state” and “principles of Islamic law represent the principle source of legislation.” Under a strict viewing of Islamic Sharia law, conversion away from Islam can be punishable by death, although most scholars do not push for this penalty. Hegazy has changed his name to Bishoy Armia Boules, said he converted to Christianity at 16-years-old and is the first Egyptian in modern times to publicly announce his conversion, which has led to a number of difficulties for the man. Hegazy is not the only person publicly challenging the government over religious conversion. In 2008, Maher el-Gohary also filed a lawsuit to have his ID's change to recognize him as a Christian. “He can believe whatever he wants in his heart, but on paper he can’t convert,†the judge had told the administrative court during the 2008 legal battle. Gohary, who has already changed his name to Peter, says that he converted to Christianity 34 years ago when he was attending the police academy in Cairo, but later dropped out of the academy because he was scared. Judges often base their decisions on religious freedoms on Article II of the Egyptian constitution, which states that Islamic law is the source of national laws. The judge in the Hegazy case said that “according to Islamic law, Islam is the final and most complete religion and therefore Muslims already practice full freedom of religion cannot return to an older belief (Christianity or Judaism).†After the initial hearing, on “The Truth,†a Dream television program the debate heated up between Gohary and his lawyer versus a Coptic lawyer and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Host Wael Ibrashy, a leading editor in the country, called on Gohary to explain his actions and why he chose a time when sectarian tensions were rising. “Christians have to be quiet because of their faith,†replied Gohary. “Police are at the door of the Cathedral and they won’t let me in, so that is a major reason behind my decision.†But Mamdouh Nakhla, a leading Coptic lawyer, said last year he believed Gohary was simply attempting to gain notoriety and fame by going public. “Christianity is all about faith. It is very person,†Nakhla began, “so I don’t know why he is doing this now unless he just wants fame and money and this timing is very bad for the country. If we take the example of Jesus, when we pray we don’t make it public, we go into our room and pray to God in a personal manner.†Nakhla says that Gohary will have a difficult time proving he honestly and truthfully converted to Christianity. The lawyer said that Gohary must prove that he was baptized and that this is not an attempt to marry a Christian wife. Gohary, who has been married twice previously, is engaged to a Christian woman. He claims that he left Egypt and traveled to Cyprus in the past, where he was baptized, although there is no documentation of that event. The cases of Hegazy and Gohary have led to a public outcry in a predominantly Muslim nation. Many Egyptians feel these sort of publicizing of religious conversions are an attempt to attack Islam. “What they do and especially now with all the tensions between Christians and Muslims across the country is wrong,†said Karim, a young Muslim in Cairo. “They have a right to believe whatever they want, but to go public and try and get famous for their conversion is wrong and is probably not the best thing for a country struggling with our religious differences.†BM
