CAIRO: Over the weekend, Egypt's Baha'i community ushered in a new era for identification cards in the country after the first batch of the religious minority was granted new ID's without a religion written on them. The move comes after years of struggling against the state in order not to choose one of the “big three” religions Judiasm, Christianity or Islam. The new ID's come months after an Egyptian court granted the Baha'i community the right not to list a false religion on the paperwork, something the small minority community had been pushing for in recent years after discrimination has been reported. Egyptians are forced to have religion noted on their identity cards. Previously, Baha'is were had to choose between Islam, Christianity or Judaism in order to receive official documents, including birth certificates and passports. Many of them took their cases to court, claiming that they'd rather leave the religion slot blank than choose a religion other than their own. The court, in March, agreed, and said they could leave the category blank in a move widely praised by religious advocacy groups in the country. Most observers estimate there are around 2,000 Baha'is in Egypt, although the exact figure is unknown. The Baha'i Faith is the most recent, established in 1863, monotheistic religion. It originates from Iran and believes in the progressive revelations of God. Baha’is believe that all religions are true and from God, but that at different times throughout human history, a new manifestation (prophet) is needed in order to adapt to the changing times and cultural traditions. The main conflict between Muslims and Baha’is is in the idea that Mohamed is not the final prophet of God, which has led to Muslims distrusting Baha’is. In December 2003, Al Azhar Research Academy, the most authoritative Sunni institution in the world, issued a fatwa against the Bahá’à Faith. It stated that Islam does not recognize any religion other than those that the Holy Qur’an has asked to be respected. The fatwa specified the Bahá’à Faith, stating that the “Bahá’à creed and its likes are intellectual epidemics that should be fought and eliminated by the state.†The recent move to issue new IDs has left some worried that it will only heighten the problems facing the religious minority since police and officials will know immediately who is Baha'i by the absence of religion on their card. “It is not good because it will continue this problem of hate in the country,” said leading Muslim Brotherhood blogger Abdel Rahman Mansour in a previous interview. He called for Egypt to end the government's role in involving itself with religion on any level. “It seems to be a waste of time for them and it only causes problems, so if the state just dropped all these issues, it might be better for Egypt in the long run,” he added. BM
