Push to drop religion from IDs sparks row
Some MPs say religious category undermines equality of citizens, while others disagree
Some MPs say religious category undermines equality of citizens guaranteed in statute, while others disagree |
Adraft bill suggesting the removal of the religion category from Egyptians’ identification cards and other official documents has provoked a big controversy in the country that has a significant Christian minority.
The draft was presented by MP Esmail Nasr Al Deen who says requiring religion to be mentioned is a violation of the constitution which calls for equality for all Egyptian citizens “regardless of their faiths, gender, race or social status”.
“If we want a real civil state then we should do away with religious mention on IDs,” he told Gulf News.
Al Deen says he has strong backing of more than half of the MPs in parliament. The lawmaker argued that some employers pick their employees on the basis of their religion mentioned in the official documents.
According to the Egyptian Constitution, a draft bill must get the approval of at least one third of the 596-member legislature to take effect.
Egypt has experienced a spate of deadly attacks by militant Islamists targeting security forces and Christians since the army’s 2013 overthrow of Islamist president Mohammad Mursi.
Christians staunchly backed Mursi’s ouster led by incumbent President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi, who was the then army chief.
Earlier this month, Al Sissi, a Muslim, said that equal citizenship rights are the basis of rule in Egypt.
In 2016, Cairo University, Egypt’s biggest public academic centre, decided to stop the mention of religion in documents presented to the institution, saying that its move is aimed at eliminating discrimination on the basis of faith.
However, the recent ID card move has not been received favourably by all politicians.
Strong objections
“We objected to this step at the time and we will do the same in reaction to the lawmaker [Nasr Al Deen]’s draft,” said Omar Hamrush, a member of the parliament’s religious committee.
“There is no need to remove the religion category from the identification card because it does not violate the constitution, harm or reduce rights of Copts in Egypt,” Hamrush told Gulf News.
“On the contrary, its removal could cause trouble and create problems related to marriage for example,” he added.
In Egypt, marriage registrars are officially obliged to state the religions of the couple in matrimonial documents.
“Removing the religion category from the ID card shows glaring ignorance of the importance of religion in Egypt,” said Mahmoud Mehna, an official in the influential Islamic seat of learning Al Azhar.
“The mention of religion in the identification card does not lead to discrimination. We the Muslims and Copts are citizens who share a long, common history,” he added in a press statement.
Sameh Fawzy, a rights activist, while supporting the proposal, said passing of the bill will do little to prevent discrimination pointing to the fact that Egyptians have tended to choose names for their children based on their religious affiliations.
“People’s names denote their religious identity without the need to check their ID cards,” Fawzy said.
“In many cases, discrimination is practised in reaction to the mere name of the person and not necessarily on the basis of official papers.”