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Freedom of expression is missing despite a decision banning imprisonment for press crimes
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In Hegazy’s case, the losers are Hegazy, Egypt and religious freedom
The only winner are the fanatics
Muhammad Hegazy, seven months ago, launched a case demanding changing his religion from being a Muslim to be a Christian in all his official documents. The administrative court rejected the case to ‘temporarily’ close it. This case was a rich field for the fanatics –Muslims and Christians- and for the media to gain more fame regardless how critical was the case. The case’s profundity is more critical than the superficial frame in which the case was shown as a mere apostasy.
Hegazy’s case was taken far from its core reality represented in Hegazy’s attempt to get his belief recorded in his official documents, to be about Hegazy himself and about his backgrounds. Many statements were launched by both Muslim and Christian fanatics who found the case a good chance for them to become famous. Journalists, some with good intentions, and others with bad intentions, contributed their quotas finding an exciting material to write about.
Many people , including some secularists, missed a simple fact in this case, that the reality of the case is merely a case of religious freedom. And its real significance is defending the right of any citizen to freedom of religion & belief no matter what the religion or belief is, including atheism.
Some Christian fanatics found the case a good opportunity to attack Islam and brand it with intolerance.
Also, some Muslim fanatics found the case a good opportunity to attack Christianity and to threaten lawyers with lifting up their "shoes" inside the court!
Most human rights organizations preferred not to tackle such a critical case.
The Egyptian government played the role of a watcher without taking a defined stance in order to be able to overbid the Christians, Muslims and seculars afterwards.
The civil law, regarding Hegazy’s case, is so clear. Any citizen wants to change his/her occupation title, religion, address should fill a request form and hand it to the Office Of Civil Affairs.
Hegazy wanted to get his religion identity changed from being a Muslim – being born to Muslim parents- to be a Christian since he became mature enough to embrace a certain religion.
The whole society was turned upside down because of a citizen declaring his desire to change his religion identity since the law saves an entry for religion identity in all citizens’ IDs.
It is noteworthy that changing the religion identity from Christianity to Islam routinely happens without complications, propaganda or courts. What is then the difference in this case?
This case is about an Egyptian citizen, who was born Muslim, and wants to convert to Christianity. This is the difference.
Some people allege that permitting changing the religious identity from Islam to Christianity threatens the national unity, and paves the way to apostasy while Islam prohibits this. Also, such permission might encourage the sectarian sedition and it is against Islam and …..etc.
We are here to ask; how can it be harmful to Islam that one, or even a million, of its followers abandon it? And how would it be good for Islam to have many Muslims who do not really believe in it?
What is the positive or negative impact on Islam or Christianity when a citizen abandons any of them & convert to the other? Which act would really threaten the national unity, forcing a citizen on recording a religion that they don’t really believe in? or letting them record their actual belief?
The Egyptian constitution stipulates that the Islamic Law (Sharia) is the primary source of legislation, but does it mean that it is a constitution for Muslims only?
Do we glorify the constitution when some one is forced to abandon their right to religious freedom? What about a person born to Muslim parents and upon maturation they wanted to choose another religion to embrace or even to embrace no religion?
Does religious freedom mean it is exclusive to the one-way conversion to Islam from Christianity or Judaism, not allowing it the other way around?
The religious freedom is merely religious freedom! It is the freedom to choose a religion or a belief without any restrictions or limitations.
What actually threatens a state or a society is violating the right of any person to express their own religion & belief publicly, or violating their right to record their actual religions in their official documents, according to the obligations of the law.
What actually threatens the national unity of a society is its being dominated by the intolerance concepts.
The main danger against a society is the clergymen (&religious scholars) who give legal opinions and adjust the social matters according to the desires of authoritative rulers.
What really endangers a society is when its government is compromising the rights of citizenship without even clearly defining citizenship, and not paying attention to the dominant intolerance atmosphere.
The Egyptian government satisfies no one when she tries to outdo & even go further than every one, whether seculars, Christians, Muslims, or Baha'is or any others. The time of such outdoing & claiming to go further than all categories has gone with no return.
The state should declare whether it is an Islamic state, with no place for Christians, seculars, or Baha'is and the citizenship criteria are according to one’s religion; or to declare that clergymen & religious scholars should stay in their natural positions. Choosing the latter, will make Egypt a homeland for all Egyptians no matter what their beliefs & religions are. Then, a way of sectarianism and descrimination will be blocked and to the Hell the fanatics will go.
The third choice, adopted currently by the Egyptian government, i.e. letting every thing just as it is, will eventually lead to more complications. In the atmosphere of intolerance and bad reputation, the first victim will be the Egyptian government itself.
The simplest step in the secular choice which will correct the situation and will make Egypt for the Egyptians, is to completely abandon the religion entry in all the official documents.
Gamal Eid
A lawyer
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