EGYPT: CONVERTED BACK COPTS STAY MUSLIM
ADNKICairo, 26 April (AKI) - The ten Egyptian Coptic Christians, who after having converted to Islam decided to return to their original faith, will remain Muslims at least on paper for the rest of their lives. A Cairo court has ruled that the ministry of the interior is not obliged to issue them new identity documents. The question of religious belief in Egypt often presents itself as an adminsitrative rather than a spiritual issue given that every Egyptian has an ID card which states his or her religion.
It is precisely for this reason that the ten Copt converts, after having rejected Islam and returned to Christianity, with a public ceremony, asked the ministry for new ID documents. But the ministry refused, on the grounds that according to Sharia law it was impossible to renounce the Islamic faith.
The law based on the Koran in fact forbids the faithful from passing from one religious creed to another and anyone who pronounces the "Shahada" or declaration of faith will be considered a Muslim forever.
The sentence handed down late Wednesday by a Cairo court explained that "the tribunal cannot uphold the request of the citizens" who were calling on the judiciary to force the government to issue new documents as "neither this nor other tribunals are able to see into the depths of the heart of a man, where only God can arrive." T
he Copt community in Egypt numbers some nine million people and makes up an estimated ten percent of the Egyptian population which is majority Muslim.