CAIRO: The Supreme Administrative Court has begun discussing appeals to court orders forbidding Christian converts to Islam who have reverted back to Christianity from updating the relevant data on their national IDs. According to Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative of Personal Rights (EIPR) the administrative court has changed its stance concerning the civilian rights of Muslims who revert to Christianity after the appointment of a new head judge. Bahgat told The Daily Star Egypt that he has been personally involved in filing cases asking for civilians rights for Muslims who revert to Christianity, and indicated that there are hundreds such cases. Until last September, these cases were approved by the administrative court which recommended that the ministry of interior apply the data change in the national IDs. The original verdicts of those cases have been out since last April and the appeals will be discussed next July, Bahgat said. Legally in Egypt there is no offense or criminal punishment if Muslims choose to become Christians or vice versa, Bahgat indicated. He added that Christians who revert to Islam do not face similar obstacles. However, in opposite cases, he said, they face severe administrative punishments and the state refuses to recognize their new religious affiliation denying them some of their basic rights. But Saad Zaghloul, a Coptic appeals lawyer, disagrees with Bahgat. To my own personal and professional knowledge, I ve never heard or encountered any case where a judge ruled for a Muslim to change his religion, Zaghloul told The Daily Star Egypt. The problem is not restricted to a specific judge or a particular lawsuit, he said. I don t believe that any judge would rule in such a case at any time in history. Zaghloul added that this problem will persist as long as the constitution contains Article 2 which states that the Islam is the official religion of Egypt. If they [the government] are sincere indeed about implementing equal citizenship rights, this problem would have been immediately solved. Zaghloul said that even if courts or judges rule in favor of such lawsuits, the administrative constraints will always be there to prevent the entire conversion process. Anyone can worship whichever God or religion he believes in secret, Zaghloul said. It says a lot that the government can t recognize a person s wish to change his religion officially. It s exactly equivalent to preventing it. If your country doesn t want to acknowledge your desire to change religions, then what s the use then? How can you even claim that you re a Christian without getting in trouble? Bahgat clearly indicated that their inability to obtain a national ID makes these citizens face difficulty in education and employment. Sheikh Mohmoud Ashour, former deputy for Al Azhar and member of the Islamic Research Center, told The Daily Star Egypt that he is aware of the case under discussion but refused to give the Islamic opinion on the matter of the rights of those who change their religious affiliations.
