The Egyptian identification card controversy is a series of events, beginning in the 1990s, that created a de facto state of disenfranchisement for Egyptian Baháʼís, atheists, agnostics, and other Egyptians who did not identify themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish on government identity documents.
During the period of disenfranchisement, the people affected, who were mostly Baháʼís, were unable to obtain the necessary government documents to have rights in their country unless they lied about their religion, which conflicted with Baháʼí religious principle. Those affected could not obtain identification cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, or passports. Without those documents, they could not be employed, educated, treated in hospitals, or vote, among other things.
As of August 2009, the situation is apparently resolved, following a protracted legal process. Identification documents may now list a dash in place of one of the three recognized religions. Under this compromise solution, the Baháʼí Faith and other beliefs are still unrecognized by the government — Islam, Christianity, and Judaism remain the only recognized religions. The first identification cards were issued to two Baháʼís under the new policy on August 8, 2009.
Historical background
Similarly to Iran and several other Muslim-majority countries, the Egyptian government requires that its citizens list their religion on government identity documents. Egyptian law recognizes Christianity and Judaism, and provides for some measure of tolerance for these minority groups. Of those who do not identify themselves with one of the three government-recognized religions of Egypt, the largest group of Egyptians with unrecognized beliefs is believed to be the Baháʼís. Although reliable statistics are not available, the number of Baháʼís in Egypt has been estimated at about 2,000 as of 2006. Baháʼí institutions and community activities have been illegal under Egyptian law since 1960 by Law 263 at the decree of then-President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egyptian Baháʼís have suffered from continual persecution, including the government confiscation of Baháʼí centres, libraries, and cemeteries, and have been charged with apostasy. Although few Egyptians publicly identify as atheists or agnostics, they faced similar difficulties.
National identification cards
All Egyptian citizens from the age of 15 must carry national identification cards, which must be presented for any type of government service, such as medical care in a public hospital or processing for a property title or deed as well as to obtain employment, education, banking services, and many other important private transactions. ID cards are also required to pass through police checkpoints, and individuals without such cards are accordingly deprived of freedom of movement. The national identification cards contained a field for religion, with only Islam, Christianity and Judaism acceptable as a religion.
Changing religion Changing religion on one's card is extremely difficult, especially for those who are converting from Islam. The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, claims that conversion to Christianity remains prohibited in practice even though Article 46 of the Constitution says that the state guarantees freedom of belief and religion. Therefore, according to the Vital Statistics Office, a Muslim who is baptised a Christian is still a Muslim. This means that a former Muslim cannot change his or her identity papers to show a new religion or name. The charity claims that the lack of a law on conversion from Islam to another religion leaves the matter in the hands of judges who must choose between Sharia and the principle of equality of all citizens before the law.Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith. 2011 Edition. p 37.
In 2008 Christian convert Mohammed Higazi was not allowed to have his identity changed to register his change of religion from Islam to Christianity. During a trial to have his religion changed on his identity papers, the opposing lawyer made death threats against Mr Higazi for converting to Christianity. The judge made no objection to these statements and expressed his loathing of the accused because of his conversion. The judge stated that he would never let Higazi be registered as a Christian. He defended his decision by saying that Islam is the principal religion in Egypt.Religious Watch Accessed August 5, 2011.
Effect of computerized identification cards
Major hardship began in the 1990s when the government modernized the electronic processing of national identification cards. Prior to this, Baháʼís were sometimes able to obtain identification documents from a sympathetic clerk willing to issue a card that left the religious-affiliation slot blank, listed religion as "other" or a dash, or listed "Baháʼí." Baháʼís have long refused to falsely list themselves as Muslim, Christian, or Jewish as a matter of religious principle.
Electronic processing locked out the possibility of an unlisted religion, or any religious affiliation other than Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. Consequently, adherents of any other faith (or no faith) became unable to obtain any government identification documents (such as national identification cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, or passports) necessary to exercise their rights in their country unless they lied about their religion.
Without documents, Baháʼís could not be employed, educated, treated in hospitals, withdraw their own money from a bank, purchase food from state stores, or vote, among other hardships. Baháʼís became virtual non-citizens, without access to employment, education, and all government services, including hospital care. A number of Baháʼí young people are without valid ID cards, a situation that has forced them out of universities and the army, placing them on the margins of society.
Timeline In the 1990s, the Egyptian government announced it would be upgrading its identification card system by issuing computerized cards that would be less susceptible to forgery. This, the government indicated, would help to combat militant Islamic unrest, and improve data collection and access. The government indicated the shift to the new system would be gradual, but set January 2005 as the deadline for everyone to have the new cards – a deadline which was apparently extended to 2006.
The system had apparently undergone modifications since it was set up. In 2003, for example, four Baháʼís sought and obtained new computerized cards in which the religious affiliation field listed "other" – a designation to which the Baháʼí community does not object. More recently, however, the software had been updated so that only one of the three recognized religions can be entered. If the field is left blank, the computer refuses to issue the card.
The Baháʼí community of Egypt had approached the government on numerous occasions to plead for a simple change in the programming, if not the law, so that they could be issued valid ID cards under the new system. Such pleas, however, had been met with rejection and refusal.
Accordingly, all members of the Egyptian Baháʼí community faced the prospect of being left wholly without proper ID cards by 2006 – a situation in which they would essentially be denied all rights of citizenship, and, indeed, would be faced with the inability even to withdraw their own money from the bank, get medical treatment at public hospitals, or purchase food from state stores.
As the new cards were being issued, the government had asked young people to start coming in for the new cards, and a number of Baháʼí youth had accordingly been stripped of paper identification cards. Once stripped of ID cards, the Baháʼí youth essentially become prisoners in their own homes, since the authorities often set up evening checkpoints to verify the identity of young men. Individuals without proper ID face detention. Likewise, young people without ID cards are denied entrance and continuing enrollment in colleges and universities, as well as service in the armed forces.
Court case
On April 4, 2006, a three-judge panel of the Egyptian Administrative Court upheld the right of a Baháʼí couple to lawfully state their religion on their ID cards. The cards had been confiscated by the government after the couple sought to have their passports updated to include their daughters. The couple, Husam Izzat Musa and Ranya Enayat Rushdy, sued, stating that the confiscation of the cards was illegal under Egypt's Constitution and international law. The court ruled for the couple, citing existing precedents and Islamic jurisprudence that allow for the right of non-Muslims to live in Muslim lands "without any of them being forced to change what they believe in" and ordered the civil registry to issue new documents that properly identify them as Baháʼís.View Court Ruling in English or Arabic
The court wrote:
In the aftermath of the court ruling, various news media in Egypt and the Arab world reported on the ruling. Human rights groups in Egypt were supportive of the decision, while representatives of Al-Azhar University and the government were negative. Newspapers in Bahrain, Kuwait and elsewhere in the region also wrote about the case, with many going into long explanations about the Baháʼí Faith. Some statements by other organizations after the initial ruling include:
IRIN, a news service of the United Nations serving the region, wrote, "Human rights activists have welcomed a landmark ruling by the Administrative Court recognizing the right of Egyptian Bahais to have their religion acknowledged on official documents." Al Arabiya, an online service of the television network, carried the headline, "They were forcing them to register themselves as Muslims; An Egyptian court recognizes the Baháʼí religion despite refusal by the Azhar." Al-Watan (Homeland), a newspaper of Kuwait, carried the headline: "They described it as the Greatest Setback; Al-Azhar scholars demand that the Egyptian judiciary review the ruling of acknowledging 'Al-Baháʼíyyah' [the Baháʼí Faith] as a religion." The lead of the article says: "A number of Al-Azhar scholars condemned the ruling of the Egyptian judiciary that acknowledged the Baháʼí creed, stressing that it is considered a great legal setback and a tragedy that must be drawn back, emphasizing that Baháʼís are not Muslims, rather, they are agents of Zionism and colonialism and are enemies of the country; they demanded a review of the ruling that acknowledges this creed."Al-Watan newspaper, April 7, 2006 Al-Ahram, one of Egypt's leading daily newspapers, carried the headline: "Crisis in Parliament Over a Judicial Ruling About the Baháʼís; The Deputies: 'Al-Baháʼíyyah' [the Baháʼí Faith] is not a Divine religion … and the ruling contradicts the constitution." The article also stated that the government had decided to appeal the ruling.Al-Ahram newspaper, May 4, 2006
On April 28, 2006, after reading that the Egyptian government asked for information on the Baháʼí Faith from members of Al-Azhar University, and knowing that much misinformation about the Baháʼí Faith has been published in the Egyptian media, the Baháʼí International Community's United Nations Office wrote to leaders of the Al Azhar Islamic Research Council to explain the essential principles of Baháʼí belief. Also available in Arabic The letter, which contained a brief statement of basic Baháʼí principles and doctrine, also asked that facts about the Baháʼí religion be obtained from trustworthy sources that were "uninfluenced by the misconceptions" that are being spread about the Baháʼí Faith.