Baha’is around the world will be thrilled to learn that the Court of Administrative Justice in Cairo has today handed down a decision that will allow Egypt’s Baha’is to leave the religious affiliation field on their ID cards blank.

It may seem a small thing, but the two cases decided today will make it possible for Baha’is in Egypt to get medical treatment, go to school, obtain their driving licences and so on. Up to now, the computerized ID card system forced Egyptian citizens to nominate themselves as Muslims, Christians or Jews. No other religious identity was permitted.

This put Baha’is in an impossible position. They are legally required to have ID cards, as are all Egyptian citizens; they have to state their religion; but the system does not recognize “Baha’i” as a legitimate choice. Baha’is do not lie about their religion (and, in any case, it is illegal to give false information on the application form for the ID cards). So Baha’is could not get ID cards, and without ID cards they could not register their children, have their children vaccinated or get access to a whole host of services we in the West take for granted.

Leaving the “religion” space blank may be a compromise, but it will allow the Baha’is to regain their civil rights as Egyptian citizens. And it is a victory, albeit a modest one, for religious freedom.

Now we have to see how long it will take the Egyptian government to implement the new ruling.

That’s not the end of the fight for rights for the Baha’is in Egypt, though. Baha’i activities and institutions are still banned under a decree issued by President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1960. Egypt is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which grants freedom of religion or belief. So we still need to persuade the Egyptian government to annul the decree or let it fall into disuse, so that the Baha’is can have what is due to them - the freedom to practise their religion unhindered by persecution.

You can read the full story of today’s court ruling here and you can read more about the persecution of Egypt’s Baha’is here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Egypt, ID cards, religious freedom