CAIRO: Fifty children of Christian converts have requested the Administrative Court to change their religion back to Christianity on official papers, after it was automatically changed to Islam upon their fathers' conversion. The court is scheduled to look into their case on Dec. 1. The children, now 16, are requesting the court to reconsider their case since they have reached the legal age to issue a national ID, which includes a slot for citizens' religious affiliation. "All 50 children underwent conversion from Christianity to Islam in official papers after their fathers converted to Islam while their mothers remained of Christian faith. The children had to live an illogical dual life, going to church and practicing Christian rituals while officially identified as Muslims, Peter El-Naggar, the children's lawyer, told Daily News Egypt. "When they turned 16 they went to the Authority of Civil Affairs to issue a national ID but they were told they would be noted down as Muslims, added El-Naggar. In addition, El-Naggar will file a case to the Prosecutor General accusing officials at the Authority of Civil Affairs of forging information in his defendants' birth certificates without their consent. El-Naggar's plea is based on a fatwa released by Dar El-Iftaa and signed by Sheikh Abdel Latif Hamza. The fatwa stipulates that being a Muslim, according to religious scholars, is determined by words (shehada) and actions. "Religious scholars agree that being a Muslim entails words and action and abiding by the five pillars, the first of which is verbally declaring one's faith, read the fatwa. According to the filed case, the children have never declared their faiths as Muslims and haven't practiced any of the religion's pillars, which is enough to annul their current information in official papers. The case also cited articles from the constitution, previous verdicts by the Cassation and Constitutional Courts, and international human rights treaties.
