Egyptian Court Refuses to Recognize Christian Man’s Conversion

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 16, 2009) –ICC has learned that on June 13, an Egyptian administrative court rejected a lawsuit by a Christian convert from Islam who wants to be recognized as a Christian on his government-issued ID.

Maher al-Moatassem Bellah al-Gohary converted from Islam to Christianity in 1973, but was still treated as a Muslim because he never requested that his religious affiliation be altered on his ID. Because Egyptian authorities follow Islamic laws, they never recognize the conversion of a Muslim to any other religion. Thus converts rarely, if ever, request official recognition of their conversion. Gohary is only the second person to ask for his conversion to be officially recognized, though there are other Egyptian Christian converts from Islam.

The main reason Gohary is now requesting such recognition is to save his daughter from forced Islamization. His daughter, Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem, is being raised as a Christian, but she cannot be recognized as such as long as her father’s ID indicates his religion as Islam. At 16, she will be issued an Islamic ID, effectively forcing her to live as a Muslim.

According to Al Arabiya, Gohary also asked the court to recognize his new name as Peter Ethnasios.

Gohary was baptized at an Orthodox Church in Cyprus . The church issued him a certificate indicating his conversion. Gohary produced this certificate as well as another issued to him by Egypt ’s Coptic Church. The court ruled that the documentary evidence he presented was invalid.

ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa and the Middle East , Jonathan Racho, said, “The ruling by the Egyptian court to reject Gohary’s conversion from Islam to Christianity is unacceptable. Not only is the ruling unconscionable but it also clearly contravenes the international standard of religious freedom. We call upon the international community to hold Egypt accountable for failing to honor its commitment to respect freedom of religion.”

Please go to www.house.gov to find the information for your elected officials and alert them to this unjust ruling in Egypt . Ask your representatives to put pressure on Egypt to reverse the ruling.