Letter to the Baha’is of Egypt from the Universal House of Justice

The Universal House of Justice, the world governing council of the Baha’i community, has addressed a wonderful message to the Baha’is of Egypt. It is also available in Arabic.

If you’re at all interested in seeing how Baha’is respond to deprivation of their human rights and their civil rights, you should read this letter. You will see that the Baha’is are not claiming special privileges for themselves, but are, rather, promoting “a single global standard of human rights”, that those organizations in Egypt that are working for this single global standard are praised as “committing themselves in large measure to the vital task of reconciling the tensions that bedevil their society.

Such reconciliation should not be impossible to Egypt’s people, who can take pride in the celebrated enlightenment that in a glorious past ensured their unity in a flourishing society. Undoubtedly Egypt will rise to participate, as benefits its stature, in the fruition of that destiny of world peace and prosperity of which all nations dream.

The letter briefly reviews the distinguished history of the Baha’i community in Egypt, dating back to the lifetime of Baha’u'llah in the 19th century, and shows how it flourished until 1960, when Presidential Decree 263 was issued without warning, banning national and local Baha’i institutions in Egypt and confiscating Baha’i properties and other assets. It reminds us of the time in 1925 when an appellate court in Egypt declared that the Baha’i Faith was “a new religion”, “entirely independent” of Islam, and with beliefs, principles and laws of its own.

The letter also gives the wider context for the current difficulties faced by the Baha’is in Egypt, “that from it you may derive an ever-larger sense of meaning and purpose.” “Injustice is rife,” writes the Universal House of Justice. “Throughout the world it afflicts every department of life whether in the home, at the workplace, or in the public sphere as a consequence of the ill conduct of individuals, groups, or governments.”

Human society has arrived at a stage in its evolution when unity of the whole human race is imperative. To not appreciate this reality is to not 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 understand that this principle implies not only the ultimate peaceful goals that it signifies but involves, as well, your participation in the painful tasks entailed in attaining it. Hence, you appreciate the global connotations of instances of oppression at home or abroad and accept the responsibility of striving, guided by the principles of the Faith and in collaboration with others whenever possible, to combat injustice, for the common good.

The letter’s opening paragraph is a clarion call to persistent and positive action by the Egyptian Baha’is. Note the opportunity offered to the authorities in Egypt to right a wrong whose implications go beyond the Baha’is; and note the call not to discount the moral courage of others who have publicly stood up for the Baha’is:

But you must stand firm and persevere in your effort to win affirmation of this right. To do less would be to deprive the authorities in Egypt of the opportunity to correct a wrong which has implications for many others, no less than for yourselves. Moreover, to relent would be to disregard the moral courage of those organizations, media, and persons of goodwill who have joined their voices to yours in the quest for a just solution to a serious inequity.

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