Egypt’s Baha’is looking outward
Kandy, Sri Lanka
The Baha’i community in Egypt is expecting a court verdict in the next few days in a case that will decide their access to basic citizenship rights. The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights has a helpful summary of the significance of the upcoming verdict:
The decision to computerize Egypt’s national identification system was … followed by a system upgrade that only allowed three religions – Christianity, Judaism or Islam – to be entered into the required religion field. What the Baha’i minority has since been demanding is not official recognition of their religion, or the right to list their faith in official documents (a right that was denied to them in 2006), but the ability to simply leave the religion field blank.
Baha’i parents have been unable to obtain birth certificates and immunize children who were born during this period, and those who passed away have yet to be issued death certificates, in effect denying their widows the right to pensions.
A couple nights ago we had an Ismaili friend over for dinner and we compared the persecution experiences of Baha’is and Ismailis in Islamic countries. He was impressed that as a result the Baha’i community has not turned inward, as he perceived among some in his own community. In reflecting on his question, I thought back to a remarkable 2006 letter from the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Baha’i community, to the Baha’is of Egypt:
Human society has arrived at a stage in its evolution when the unity of the whole human race is imperative. To not appreciate this reality is not to grasp the meaning of the current crisis in world affairs. The principle of the oneness of humankind identifies the code for resolving the far-reaching issues involved. As Baha’is… you appreciate the global connotations of instances of oppression at home or abroad and accept the responsibility of striving, guided by the principles of your Faith and in collaboration with others whenever possible, to combat injustice, for the common good.
That’s the vision that keeps the Baha’is looking outward.
Thanks for the reality check. We must never take for granted the concept of religious freedom. No wonder America’s destiny in the unfolding global society is so prominent. We already take for granted these fundamental human rights.