Christian Convert Arrested in Egypt

Language: 
English
Sent On: 
Wed, 2013-12-11
Year: 
2013
Newsletter Number: 
58

AWR, Cairo, December 11, 2013

Christian Convert Arrested in Egypt

Muhammad Hijāzī, who converted in 1998 to Christianity, made media waves in 2007-2008 when he tried to change his religion on his identity card. The issue was forgotten for some time, but now he is in the news again following his arrest.  According to media reports, the charges brought against him include espionage, inciting sectarian tension through Evangelism, and unlicensed photography and journalism.

It is important to be extremely cautious with media reporting, in particular with sensitive subjects such as these.

Issues with authorities for Muhammad Hijāzī seem to have resurfaced because of his work with the U.S.-based al-Tarīq station, known for its work in Evangelism and portraying Copts as being persecuted. Narallah, the owner of al-Tarīq, is associated with the “Innocence of Muslims” film, which portrays the Prophet of Islam as a maniac. This film clearly appears to be made to deliberately malign Islam, leading to demonstrations in Egypt upon its release. The charge of espionage may be related to the fact that they are perceived to be anti-Islamic and U.S.-based. Hijāzī, registered as a social worker, is also not working within Egyptian law since he appears to be doing unregistered journalistic work.

The only thing we can do with such potentially inflammatory stories is to try to be as factual as possible with the information given, knowing of course that what has been reported may be far from a complete picture. We are therefore grateful to Jayson Casper who researched Arab-West Report for Hijāzī’s past and various other media for current reporting about Muhammad Hijāzī in addition to contacting lawyer, Mamdūh Nakhla. For his report please click here.

Hijāzī may well have violated Egyptian law, but widespread negative Muslim feelings about the film “Innocence of Muslims” may have contributed to authorities’ intervention.

Commemorating  ‘Āshūra’

Some Shī’ah Muslims, a small religious sect in Egypt, were demanding to celebrate the Muslim holiday, ‘Āshūra’, in al-Hussayn Mosque in Cairo. Researcher, Yosra El Gendi, explains that Shī’ah and Sunnī Muslims celebrate this holiday in very different ways. The Shī’ah do so with bloody self-mutilation, which is entirely different from Sunnī tradition. The monumental al-Hussayn Mosque, close to Al-Azhar Mosque in the heart of Islamic Cairo, was built in 1154 AD by the Shī’ite Fatimid rulers of Egypt. When Shī’ah rule in Egypt ended 800 years ago, al-Hussayn Mosque became a Sunnī mosque. The Shī’ah call to celebrate ‘Āshūra’in al-Hussayn Mosque is thus provocative. The Minister of Endowments forbade the Shī’ah in Egypt to celebrate ‘Āshūra’ altogether. This decision of the Minister was well received by conservative Salafīs who are strongly opposed to all Shī’ah influences in Egypt. For more information read Yosra’s report here.

Thus, we see here the same phenomenon as with Muhammad Hijāzī. Did the state restrict religious freedom in order to avoid unrest by deeply-pious Muslims who might be offended by the products of al-Tarīq station and/or its owner in the case of Muhammad Hijāzī and the Shī’ah wish to celebrate ‘Āshūra’ in their way in a Sunni mosque? Could it be that stability, keeping the country from more unrest, is of greater importance than religious freedom?

Amnesty International Critiques Constitution

The Constituent Assembly has provided its draft text to Egypt's interim president. Amnesty International wrote a critical review about this text. Arab-West Report is of the opinion that any critique on the draft constitution should also take the societal context into consideration.  For a response to Amnesty International's text click here.

Also, for a full translation of the draft Constitution click here.

Cornelis Hulsman, Editor-in-Chief

Arab-West Report