Posted by Iranian on August 14, 2007, 1:07 am, in reply to "Threats force Egyptian convert to hide " --Previous Message--
66.209.102.5
Roughly, how are you and how have you been. How is the move.
: 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.
:
:
:
: In this photo released by U.S Copts
: Associations Mohammed Hegazy, an
: Egyptian Muslim who converted to
: Christianity, talks in this recent
: undated picture in Cairo, Egypt.
: Hegazy has gone into hiding, facing
: death threats after he launched an
: attempt to get official recognition
: of his change of religion, an
: unprecedented step in this
: conservative Islamic nation. (AP
: Photo/HO, U.S Copts Associations)
:
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