An Egyptian Coptic church appears behind a mosque in Cairo. An Egyptian who converted from Islam to Christianity has launched a bid to have the change recognized officially.
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Posted on Thu Aug 09 2007
Christian convert seeks recognition in Egypt
August 9, 2007
Middle East Times
CAIRO -- Two Coptic Christian rights activists have been arrested in Egypt for allegedly insulting Prophet Mohammed on a British-based Web site, their lawyer and a judicial source said Thursday.
Security forces Wednesday arrested the Egyptian country director of the Middle East Christian Association (MECA) Adel Fawzi, 61, and the association's photographer Peter Ezzat, 35, their lawyer Naguib Guebrail said.
"They were arrested at home in Cairo and were still being held Thursday morning," said Guebrail. "We haven't been officially told why they were arrested but security sources told us they are accused of distributing religiously defamatory books that incited confrontation between Copts and Muslims," he said.
Computers, CDs, and documents were seized by security forces, the lawyer and judicial source said. The source said that the pair had been arrested for insulting Islam on the British-based United Copts Web site.
"The Egyptian public prosecutor ordered Fawzi and Ezzat arrested for publishing articles and declarations that are damaging to Islam and insulting to Prophet Mohammed on the United Copts Web site," the source said. "These arrests follow a complaint about the two people who run the site made by two lawyers who felt offended by the publication of these articles," he said.
"Police ransacked Fawzi's home and took his computer and his published book Persecuted Copts," the United Copts Web site said.
The Web site says that its aims include "exposing the injustice the Copts suffer" and "promoting constructive dialogue with the Egyptian government agencies and moderate Muslims."
Copts are estimated to form 6 to 10 percent of Egypt's 76 million people and are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. They frequently complain of alleged discrimination and mistreatment at the hands of Egypt's majority Muslims, especially in cases of religious conversion.
Christian convert seeks recognition in Egypt
AFP
August 2, 2007
An Egyptian who converted from Islam to Christianity has launched a bid to have the change recognised officially in what is believed to be the first such case, he told AFP on Thursday.
Coptic rights group the Al-Kalima Centre brought the case on behalf of Mohammed Ahmed Higazi, 25, who said he wanted to have his conversion recognised officially so that his child would be born Christian.
In Egypt, identity cards say whether the bearer is Christian or Muslim, but those who convert to Christianity complain that administrative hurdles prevent them being able to change their official papers.
"My wife is pregnant. I want my son to be born within my own religion and for the fact that he is Christian to be written on official papers," said Higazi, who converted at the age of 16 but never sought to have the change officialised because of the hurdles.
"This is the first such case in the history of Egyptian justice," said Al-Kalima director Mamduh Nakhla, although this was not immediately possible to confirm independently.
Despite the administrative hurdles, Egypt's top Muslim religious advisor, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, last week reaffirmed that Muslims could choose their own religion, although apostasy would still amount to a "grave sin."
Another case involving 12 former Christians who converted to Islam and are now trying to revert goes before Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court in September.
Changing status of a Moslem
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