Egypt forcing converts from Islam, members of Bahai faith to conceal their religion, watchdogs say

: Arab Republic Of Egypt must change its policy of not allowing converts from Islamism and members of the Bahai faith to register their religion in functionary documents, two human rights groupings said Monday.

In a study two old age in the making, the New York-based Person Rights Watch and the local Egyptian Enterprise for Personal Rights, or EIPR, described how Egyptians of spiritual persuasions government disapprove of are not able to acquire birth certifications and designation cards.

Joe Stork, the HRW Center East deputy sheriff chief, said it was a systematic policy to deny written documents to members of faiths other than Islam, Christian Religion and Hebraism — the lone three religions officially recognized by Egyptian authorities.

ID card game are compulsory here, but people seeking to have got "Bahai" listed as their religion on the card, for example, are denied the document, Stork told newsmen in Cairo.

The study quoted some 40 people the guard dog groupings interviewed as saying they were told in applying for written document that they must name themselves as either Moslem or Christian, or hazard not being able to obtain the document. Today in Africa & Center East

"We're talking about a authorities policy that is compelling and pressuring people to lie," said Stork.

The report, titled "Prohibited Identities: State Intervention with Religious Freedom," also noted lawsuits where fathers have got converted to Islamism and left their children and families, with government automatically registering his children as having converted to Islamism as well, often without informing them of this.

Since 2004, the issue have come up before the tribunal respective modern times in the predominantly Moslem Egypt. Coptic Christians are about 10 percentage of Egypt's 76 million population and generally dwell in peace with the Sunnite Moslem majority.

Next Sunday, the Supreme Administrative Court will present a concluding opinion on whether seven Egyptians who reconverted to Christian Religion after already having converted to Islamism will be recognized as Christians.

Next month, a opinion is also expected on whether the authorities must acknowledge minority Bahais. The religion, Bahaism, emerged from Islamism and sees a 19th century Irani nobleman, Baha'u'llah, arsenic its oracle — a challenge to the Moslem belief that Elijah Muhammad is the last prophet.

Unofficial figs set the Bahai community at about 2,000 in Egypt.

Bahai hotel director Wafaa Hindy told newsmen how she and her hubby have got got no Idaho card game and now fear their boy will be expelled from university since he also doesn't have the document.

"We don't necessitate the authorities to hold I am Bahai ... but I necessitate the authorities to give me an personal identity card because I am Egyptian — this is totally different from my religion," Hindy said.

EIPR manager Hossam Bahgat said the authorities policy have no footing in neither Egyptian nor Islamic law, or Sharia, as functionaries often claim. While converting from Islamism is defined as renunciation by Islamic law, there is no corresponding legal punishment.

____

Associated Press Writer Maamoun Youssef contributed to this report.