Human rights groups call on Egypt to end discrimination against Baha'is

I was about to post this yesterday, but my flat was struck by a power cut, and so I lost it. That'll teach me to save my work!

My friend Nura sent me this link to an article from the International Herald Tribune, about a report from Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights about state interference in religious freedom in Egypt.

The article is good, although a nitpick I have is that it uses the outdated term "Bahaism", which is considered incorrect in modern use. But I'm splitting hairs. An interesting point is raised towards the end of the article, where it states that "the government policy has no basis in neither Egyptian nor Islamic law". This policy (and indeed the controversy as a whole) is about stating one's religion in official government documents like ID cards. I think it's worthy of note that in neighbouring Sudan, also an Islamic country, stating your religion is not a requirement on ID cards - it's seen as a personal issue that the state has no business interfering in.

The excellent Baha'i Faith in Egypt blog has a great post about this, and in the comments some helpful people have made lists of news reports like the one above. The world is watching, Egypt.