A Remarkable Victory for the Baha'is of Egypt

Monday, March 16, 2009

A Remarkable Victory for the Baha'is of Egypt

While their brothers and sisters in Iran continue to endure harsh oppression, the Baha'is of Egypt have just received a remarkable gift from their judicial establishment. The appeal--brought by Islamist lawyers in their attempt to reverse the 29 January 2008 ruling that permitted the Baha'is of Egypt to obtain ID cards and birth certificates with dashes [--] inserted in place of religious identification--was denied by Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court in its session today. The court also asserted that the 29 January ruling must be now enforced.

With this ruling, all legal challenges and appeals, brought by those extremists who oppose the Baha'is in Egypt, have been defeated in court. The Ministry of Interior, the principal party to the lawsuits, has never challenged or appealed the ruling that favored the Baha'is.

With this final verdict, there are no legal or administrative obstacles left that could prevent the Baha'is of Egypt from obtaining ID cards or birth certificates in their homeland.

Even though this significant step is considered to be a very welcome development in their struggle for their civil rights, the Baha'is of Egypt continue to suffer from consequences of the 1960 Presidential Decree-263, of the late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, that outlawed the Baha'i Faith in Egypt.