After over a decade of persistent denial of his religious identity, an Egyptian Christian man has successfully corrected the religious affiliation on his identification documents, marking a significant victory for religious freedom in Egypt.
Referred to only as Elias for security reasons, the resident of Cairo faced a clerical error by the Egyptian authorities that incorrectly listed him as Muslim on all official identification.
This error significantly affected his and his family’s daily life, restricting their participation in Christian activities and barring his children from attending Christian schools, according to the legal advocacy group ADF International, which supported Elias.
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Despite repeated attempts to rectify this on his ID card, Elias’s requests were continuously ignored, leaving him to face widespread discrimination and curtailing his family’s religious education and practices.
ADF International says a resolution was reached through its network of allied attorneys, leading to a government directive to amend Elias’s documents to reflect his Christian faith accurately.
Elias’ case is just one of numerous cases where religious minorities are harassed or discriminated against when they request to change their religion on their identification documents, according to ADF International Director of Global Religious Freedom Kelsey Zorzi.
“Despite years of legal challenges and attempts to change the law to reflect religious freedom standards, the situation has remained largely unchanged,” she added. “We are delighted that Elias’ request was finally allowed, and we will continue to support other individuals who face issues with their identity cards.”
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior mandates all citizens’ ID cards state their religious affiliation. Errors or misstatements on such documents can lead to severe violations of religious freedom and discrimination.
Incidents of Christian persecution in Egypt vary from women being harassed while walking in the street to Christian communities being driven out of their homes by extremist mobs. Christians are typically treated as second-class citizens.
Egypt’s government speaks positively about the Egyptian Christian community. Still, the lack of serious law enforcement and the unwillingness of local authorities to protect Christians leave them vulnerable to all kinds of attacks.
Churches and Christian nongovernmental organizations face restrictions on building new churches or running social services.
In Egypt, ADF International is also involved in legal battles for Nour Girgis and Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, two Christian men held in pre-trial detention since 2021. Their arrest stemmed from their association with a Facebook page supporting those who have converted from Islam to Christianity, a charge Egyptian authorities have controversially linked with terrorism.
The advocacy group has called for their urgent release and is pursuing international legal avenues to secure it. In a recent development, Abdo announced he would commence a hunger strike to protest the injustice he has endured.
