Threats Force Egyptian Christian Convert to Hide
Pastor Dale Morgan
Threats Force Egyptian Christian Convert to Hide*
By MAGGIE MICHAEL
The Associated Press
Saturday, August 11, 2007; 2:58 PM
CAIRO, Egypt -- An Egyptian Muslim who converted to Christianity and
then took the unprecedented step of seeking official recognition for the
change said he has gone into hiding following death threats.
Mohammed Hegazy, who sparked controversy when pictures of him posing
with a poster of the Virgin Mary were published in newspapers, was
shunned by his family and threatened by an Islamist cleric vowing to
seek his execution as an apostate.
"I know there are fatwas (religious edicts) to shed my blood, but I will
not give up and I will not leave the country," the 25-year-old Hegazy
told The Associated Press from his hideout Thursday.
Hegazy made a public splash when he took the unusual step of going to
court to change his religion on his national ID card. His first lawyer
filed the case, but then quit after the uproar; his second is still
considering whether it's worth pursuing.
Hegazy said he received telephoned death threats before he went into
hiding in an apartment with his wife, a Muslim who took the name
Katarina when she converted to Christianity several years ago. She is
four months pregnant.
He said he wants to change the religion on his ID for two reasons: to
set a precedent for other converts and to ensure his child can openly be
raised Christian. He wants his child to get a Christian name, birth
certificate and eventually marry in a church. That would be impossible
if Hegazy's official religion is Muslim, because a child is registered
in the religion of the father.
There is no Egyptian law against converting from Islam to Christianity,
but in this case tradition takes precedent. Under a widespread
interpretation of Islamic law, converting from Islam is apostasy and
punishable by death _ though killings are rare and the state has never
ordered or carried out an execution on those grounds.
Most Muslims who convert usually practice their new religion quietly or
leave the country. Egypt is overwhelmingly Muslim. Only 10 percent of
the 76 million population is Christian and converts are typically
ostracized by their families. If the conversion becomes known, they may
receive death threats from militants or harassment by police, who use
laws against "insulting religion" or "disturbing public order" to target
them.
Christians who become Muslim can get their new religion entered on their
IDs and face little trouble from officials, though they too are usually
thrown out by their families.
There have been a few similar cases in other parts of the Muslim world.
In May, Malaysia's highest court refused to recognize the conversion of
a Muslim woman to Christianity, saying the case should be handled by
religious authorities.
Hegazy, who took the Christian name Beshoy after an Egyptian monk,
converted to Christianity nine years ago and began attending church in
his hometown of Port Said on the Suez Canal.
"I started readings and comparative studies in religions," he said. "I
found that I am not consistent with Islam teachings. The major issue for
me was love. Islam wasn't promoting love as Christianity did."
He said after his conversion was discovered, police detained him for
three days and tortured him. He said he was harassed several more times.
Then, in 2001, he was arrested again after publishing a book of poems
critical of the security services. He said he was held for three months
on suspicion of sedition, disturbing public order and insulting the
president, though he was ultimately released without charge.
Hegazy's first lawyer, Mamdouh Nakhlah, told the AP he initially
accepted the case because of an editorial last month by one of Egypt's
highest Islamic clerics, the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa. He wrote against the
killing of apostates, saying there is no worldly retribution for Muslims
who abandon their religion.
Gomaa's comments were sharply criticized by Muslim conservatives, who
claimed the remarks opened the door for Muslims to leave their faith.
Nakhlah said he had hoped Gomaa's statement could signal a chance to set
a legal precedent. But he ultimately backed out saying "the atmosphere
is not suitable."
Hegazy's new lawyer, Ramsis el-Nagger, says he had not decided whether
to pursue the case, but is pessimistic about winning because of the
conflict around it.
If the case makes it to court, it will open an unknown realm of Egyptian
law. Earlier this year, a court rejected an attempt by a group of
Christians who had converted to Islam but then returned to Christianity
and sought to restore their original religion on their ID cards. The
case has been appealed.