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Egyptian court will officially recognize Christian converts

An Egyptian court has ruled that 12 Christians who converted to Islam and then reverted to Christianity can have their faith officially recognized, reports Dan Wooding, founder of ASSIST Ministries.

According to a story written for BBC News by Bob Trevelyan, the decision overturns a lower court ruling by a lower court, which said the state need not recognize conversions from Islam because of a religious ban.

“This is a case that has tested Egypt’s tolerance of conversions from Islam,” he said.

“A lawyer for the 12 Coptic Christians described the case as a victory for human rights and freedom of religion.

“He says it could open the door for hundreds of other Copts who want to revert to their original faith from Islam.”

Limited application

Trevelyan added, “It appears, though, that the court’s decision will have a limited application.

“Reports say the judge decided that the Copts should not be considered apostates for converting from Islam, because they had been born Christian.

“This suggests that Egyptians born Muslim will still be unable to convert to other faiths and have those conversions recognized on their identity cards. Many Muslims believe that converting from Islam is wrong, and some believe it is punishable by death.”

He concluded by saying, “Last year, an Egyptian convert to Christianity was forced to go into hiding when he received death threats after trying to have his conversion officially recognized.”

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[02/11/2008]

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