US State Dept report condemns treatment of Baha’is and others in Egypt & Iran

The US State Department has published its comprehensive report on international religious freedom for the year 2007.

Of particular interest to me are the sections on Iran and Egypt.

On Iran, the report notes:

There was continued deterioration of the extremely poor status of respect for religious freedom during the reporting period. Government rhetoric and actions created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all non-Shi’a religious groups, most notably for Baha’is, as well as Sufi Muslims, evangelical Christians, and members of the Jewish community.

Reports of government imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs continued during the reporting period. Baha’i religious groups often reported arbitrary arrests, expulsions from universities, and confiscation of property. Government-controlled media, including broadcast and print, intensified negative campaigns against religious minorities–particularly the Baha’is–during the reporting period.

Although the Constitution gives Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians the status of “protected” religious minorities, in practice non-Shi’a Muslims face substantial societal discrimination, and government actions continued to support elements of society who create a threatening atmosphere for some religious minorities.

The report also notes that the status of the Egyptian government’s respect for religious freedom declined during the reporting period. In particular:

The Government again opposed advances in the respect for religious freedom affecting Baha’is. A government appeal of an April 2006 decision by the Administrative Court, which had supported the right of Baha’i citizens to receive ID cards and birth certificates with religion noted on the documents, resulted in a December 16, 2006 decision to overturn its ruling, and maintained the government prohibition on Baha’i citizens obtaining identity cards.

and

Tradition and some aspects of the law discriminated against religious minorities, including Christians and particularly Baha’is. The Government also continued to deny civil documents, including identity cards, birth certificates, and marriage licenses, to members of the Baha’i community.

Of course (and very sadly), Baha’is are not the only religious minority to be persecuted or subject to major discrimination in either Egypt or Iran, but it seems to me that the treatment of the Baha’is is a litmus test of governmental attitudes to freedom of religion or belief in both countries.

The Baha’i Faith in Egypt blog has much more on the Egyptian side of this.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, religious freedom, human rights, Iran, Egypt