In mid-February, an Egyptian court ruled that 12 Christians who converted to Islam and then reconverted to Christianity can have their faith officially recognized (click here for more information). On March 4, however, a senior judge appealed the High Administrative Court's ruling and asked them to review the constitutionality of a law granting citizens the right to change religions, according to a March 26 report from Compass Direct. The 12 have also been blocked from obtaining documents listing their change of faith. Government officials recently refused to give one of the 12 a card that recognizes his Christian faith by claiming that their computerized system could only enter one word in the religion section. The February court ruling, however, stipulated that he and the other 11 could obtain cards that stated: "Christian, previously proclaimed Islam as his/her religion."
For more information on the persecution of Christians in Egypt, go to the Egypt Country Report.
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