Government Refuses to Recognize Baha'i Faith

July 8, 2006

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader

Wire Service: AP

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/living/religion/14962575.htm

On July 8, 2006 the Associated Press reported, "Tucked away in Labib Iskandar's pocket is a neatly folded slip of paper with fraying edges that tells the story of a community fighting for recognition. It's a receipt Iskandar got when he applied for the computer-based identification card Egypt had just then begun issuing -- more than five years ago. Iskandar is a Baha'i, a member of a religious community that regards a 19th-century Persian nobleman, Baha'u'llah, as a prophet -- a challenge to the Muslim belief that Muhammad is the last prophet. Given the pivotal role of Islam in Egyptian life, the government will issue an ID card only to Muslims, Christians or Jews. The issue broke into the news in April when a court ruled members of Egypt's little-known Baha'i community had the right to have their faith listed on official documents, sparking an outcry. The Interior Ministry quickly filed an appeal, and last month another court froze the case. It's still a controversy, however. Some Muslim clerics openly declare the Baha'i faith is a heresy, and civil rights advocates complain this heavy-handed approach threatens to set off clashes like those that erupted recently between Muslims and minority Christians in the northern city of Alexandria. While the dispute directly affects only the country's Baha'is -- perhaps 2,000 of the 72 million Egyptians -- it provides a glimpse into how a once cosmopolitan society has sunk into a culture where fanaticism outweighs protections of religious freedom."