Surely the Egyptian courts saw many cases concerning the Bahais , even from early time in the Kingdom of Egypt and Sudan in the last century
and surely the court rule in 2006 from two weeks won't be the last one as you will
- in year 1925 The legate Court "Shari'a Court" declared after investigation that the Baha'ism is an independent religion , it is not a sect of Islam "Mainly" or Christianity or Judaism.And thus its followers are not Muslims.
- in year 1960, Their temple down town was closed along with all other activities which were prohibited in the Arab Republic {The Union of Egypt and Syria then} after the involvement of some Bahai members in espionage activities for an enemy country that is Israel , at that time I guess the Baha'i issue was handled by the Egyptian Intelligence
- in year 1985 , a New Baha'i group was arrested among them famous Painter Hussein Bikar , the new thing that the Baha'i issue was transferred from the Egyptian Intelligence to the Board of the National security.
- in year 2004 , the high supreme court in Egypt made a historical verdict saying that the Religions to be admitted by the State and to be registered in the official papers are : The Islam, The Christianity and the Judaism only .
- in year April 2006 , a surprise verdict from an Egyptian Court that allows the Bahai's to add their religion to the Religion form in the official papers
- Same year , the Egyptian Parliament with the majority of its members whether from NDP or MB to issue a Law that prohibits the Baha'ism from Egypt .
That's the law and order time line in our case and here I would like to thank Ehab Zalfy at El-Dostor weekly newspaper this week for providing the Egyptian readers among them me with this valuable information
For those who wonder why Egypt puts a religion Register for its citizens , well this is simple yet important , as You know the official religion of Egypt is the Islam with the majority of its citizens are Muslims
Now as you know also according to the Egyptian Constitution second amendment , The religion of the State is the Islam which is the source of the legalisation in the Law , and so the laws concerning the marriage and inheritance are all coming from the Shari'a ,
- in Shari'a the Muslim Woman is prohibited to marry Non Muslims this is number one
- in Shari'a the Inheritance laws are very complex and sophisticated , and already there is difference between the Muslim and unMuslim treatment in it
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- For example, if a Muslim married un Muslim woman , and he dies , she inherits nothing ,
- same thing for his un Muslim children
Marriage and inheritance are the main reasons why we are using the Religion Registry , call it closed mind system , retardation but I believe this is the best thing to protect the Society and Social system , I am a Muslim and I know my Shari'a is 100% right and prefect .You see it is better to have this way , then to have like in Lebanon using the Legate courts "Legate Courts are courts where the judges are religious Men"
Now bottom line I read last year about the religions and sects that came after the Islam mostly from Persia , it was a study made by a professor in Al-Monfya University yet he was not unbiased , more to show all the historical and geographical facts and I know with all my respect to the followers of the faith of Bahai's that this is another Persian Heresy , I am sorry to say like this ,I spent hours in the official sites and reading from Baha'i sources and I am afraid that all Baha'ullah message didn't get in to my mind , you see not only politics I would like to read and debate in it but also religions and their history and the influence of the nations on religions
claiming that he was the next prophet or what ever he was representing , the 1000 years between prophets "Thanks Marco for correction" doesn't make sense , already not Only prophet Mohamed came after 600 years after Jesus Christ ,but also there were prophets and Messengers who came at the same time "Abraham and Lut ", "Zakirah and John " and "David and Solemn" , or may be I didn't it get it well , you see there is a difference between Prophet and Messenger yet if we calculate it the difference between each Messenger that we will find it that it differs accordingly , this link goes with the Baha'i belief that all religions in world "the 3 divine ones ,Hinduism and Zoroastrianism come from one source
and I am sorry that why I consider Mr. Baha'ullah claimed to be a messenger just like many in the middle and modern ages , once the Moatinaby , the great poet of middle age was said to claim the prophecy , and I wonder what was the Baha'ullah Miracle , every messenger in the history had a Miracle for his own people , Moses was Magic , Jesus was Medicine , Mohamed was the Quran , a book for every time and every place "Peace upon them all ", what was his miracle ??
About the Source of all world religions ,the major ones like the Buddhism , Zoroastrianism , Judaism , Christianity and Islam are coming of one source , believe it or not ,I believe in this without being a Baha'i and I am a Muslim , beside of the Divine Trio of Middle East , after reading many things about Buddha's History and Zoroastrianism , I believe that those two religions were divine religions yet humans and time changed them , in the Holy Quran God says that there are other messengers and prophets that we don't know about them , when I read about Buddha ,I have this crazy idea that he could be a prophet and in old Persia , it is enough to say The three kings of the Orient were Persians priests of Ahura Mazda who believed that the next Messiah will come from Palestine and you know the rest , also , Salman , the Persian ,one of the prophet Mohamed's friends , he was informed by the coming of the next prophet in Arabia from one of the priests in the main fire temple , Not to mention "Bokhair'ah " the Christian Monk who recognised Prophet Mohamed "pbuh" and warned his uncle from the Jews
And this makes me wonder why didn't the Quran didn't mention the coming of Baha'ullah !? Judaism predicted the coming of Jesus and we believe that Christianity predicted the coming of Mohamed "Bokhairah the Monk " "And prophet who is called Ahmed will come after me ", I read the Holy Quran several times I can't find a single hint , already it is a book for every time and place and there is no single letter changed in it , since it was gathered by the orders of Abi-Baker that another prophet will come after Mohamed "PBUH" !!
these wonderful meaning the Baha'is are saying about the humanity love and peace reminds me so much with the Sufism orders which are spread like sand in Iran , the Dervish country along with Turkey , yet Iran I consider it the Mother not only for Islamic Nuke power but Islamic sects , and sects which changed in to separated religions just like our Case here
By the way I don't attack any Baha'i and I don't hate them simply as I have my orders to respect other religions from the Quran and Sunnah and both I can't break it yet I like to think loudly and to share my opinions even if some don't like it
To close this file for good for now as we got much important things in Egypt , I predict that they won't get a thing in Egypt ,the majority of Egyptian people whether Muslims and Christians don't like them and refuse their existence and the government and regime will go with the majority ,and already they won't suffer much ,simply because they seemed to be rich , rich people to make a lawyer like Labib Mowad their lawyer
another thing if the Baha'is took what they wanted then we should listen to the Egyptian Shiia
Hey, this was an interesting blog. It gave a lot of information on what's going on in the world today and on different religions. Sorry, I haven't had much time to comment lately, lol. I haven't been commenting on hardly anyone's blog for sometime now. I've just been busy with college work and taking tests so that I can skip certain classes. I'll try to stop by when I can. Always feel free to shoot me an e-mail and tell me of your latest posts.:)
ReplyDeleteP.S. No kidding. Shoot me an e-mail if ya want.:P
My compliments to you, Zeinobia, for continuing to share your impressions from your further study of the Baha'i Faith.
ReplyDeleteThe 1925 ruling you cite in your historical overview marked a signficant moment in Baha'i history, the first time the independent nature of the Faith was recognized in the Muslim world.
Regarding your discussion of the Shari'a, you are indicating the significance of religion as a source of order in the world. The Baha'i Writings provides guidance about marriage and inheritance that is a source of order for the Baha'is in the world.
You are correct in noting that there have been many claims to prophethood advanced over the centuries. The Christian Bible offers some guidance as to how to distinguish between the True One from God and false claimants: "By their fruits ye shall know them." Do they bring disunity, which is so much in abundance in the world, or unity? The Baha'i International Community is marked by a sense of unity despite profound differences among the millions of diverse peoples who call themselves Baha'i. This is the miracle of Baha'u'llah. He has been able to unify people of all background, all ethnicities, all continents, all religious background into one community. World unity is the fruit of this Faith.
That you are able to recognize the Buddha as a possible prophet of God shows your open-mindedness. With this same open mind, read the Writings of Baha'u'llah and come to your own conclusions as to whether He is who He says He is.
The coming of Baha'u'llah is referred to in the Holy Quran as it is in the holy books of all the Great Religions. Here is one source:
http://bci.org/prophecy-fulfilled/abir.htm
There are many other sources to investigate that are just a click away on the Internet.
I am an Egyptian Baha'i and I read your comment on another blog about pilgrimage to Israel and I wanted to make something clear that maybe Marco is not aware of. Egyptian Baha'is, and all Arab Baha'is, are not allowed to visit their Holy Land or go for pilgrimage due to the current political conflict between Israel and the Arab countries. And this rule is not made by the Arab countries governments or by Israel. It is obvious that citizens from both sides do travel to the other side if they wish. This rule is placed by the Universal House of Justice out of respect for the delicate political situation.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, I only have a few comments about the "comparative" approach you had when looking at the Baha'i writings.
Baha'ullah explains that all religions came from one source, which is the One God that we all worship. We should not "compare" religions and try to decide which one is "best". Religions are a continuous series of Revelations from God to us and they will never stop. Every religion is the most complete and the "last" during its time. It was mentioned by Jesus that he is The One, The First and The Last, follow Him and you're saved. Wasn't that true during his time? Until Islam was revealed it was true.
You were asking for prophecies in Islam that tells of the coming of Baha'ullah. Even though there are, I wonder how useful are they for someone to believe or not to believe in Baha'ullah. Weren't there prophecies is Judaism about the coming of Jesus? Did it automatically make all Jews followers of Jesus or did they fight him? The same with Christianity and Islam. The Prophet's name was mentioned, as you said, in the Bible. Did this make all Christians believe in Islam as the fulfillment of the prophecy? I'm afraid it doesn't work this way.
Back to the comparative approach. The Baha'i faith calls for all religions to unite. Calls for all religious leaders to work together for the sake of humanity. The Baha'i faith asks the world to consider the Divine Solutions revealed by God through Baha'ullah to all their ailments in this day. We're not seeking the cancellation of previous religions as claimed by scared clergymen, and we're not claiming leadership or superiority. We're just trying to serve humanity and trying to get everyone else to see that we're all one.
Regarding the civil issues of the Baha'is in Egypt raised recently by the court ruling, that's another topic altogether and needs a separate comment :)
@Aisha, of course I know I can girl and good luck :)
ReplyDelete@George, I read some of Baha'Uallah writing and I am afraid my open mind is closed after the coming of Mohammed "PBUH" and I afraid this strange link you mentioned is another hereasy
@almondes, I always agree on your opinions ,so got nothing to say exccept to yes on what you said , no further comment
@egyptian Baha'i ,wow I am making a progress here , I was the first to find an egyptian Shiia ,now an Egyptian Baha'i ,My blog is specail anyway I believe on the opposite that we must compare religions , at least we know what is the man made from God's made
Egyptian Baha'i: thank you for reminding me it is the House of Justice who doesn’t allow Baha’is from Arab countries to travel to the Holy Land in Pilgrimage. I remember I was told so by Lebanese and Syrian Baha’is some years ago.
ReplyDeleteBut we never know how things will change in the future. I remember in 1992 I meet in the Holy Land the first baha’is from Indonesia who were allowed to visit the Baha’I Holy Sites. They were so touched by that experience! They had always thought they would never go on Pilgrimage, and suddenly they had permission to go to the Holy Land.
zeinobia, if you mean by comparing, putting them to the doubting test before accepting them then I would agree with you. No one should just accept something without studying first. But competitiveness between religions to see which is best and how the rest are wrong and their books were changed. That is what Baha'ullah warned us from doing. It only leads to disunity and hatred, which is the opposite of what those religions were revealed in the first place. The sun shines everyday on a different mirror reflecting the same light. It's the same sun only a different mirror, it's the same light only in a different intensity and is reflected in a different shape. How can you compare them? It's the same for Religions. God's truth is reflected during every revelation through its Prophet or Manifestation. It's the same Truth all over history, how can you compare it?
ReplyDeleteWe do believe that all over history though people were betrayed by those who claimed they are the only ones who know the truth. The priests and clergymen of all Religion who used God's Words to serve their own purposes and who could lead their people to the sun shining in the new Mirror but they chose not to. They are the reason why Religions fight today. They made up all this comparison and competition as if it's a street war between the followers of gangs and someone has to win it.
It's the same Word of God shining on us. See it as that and you will see how you can't put religions in competition. Only then you will be able to see how religions are all the same.
Zeinobia, You say with baha'is being a minority, that makes it okay to be discriminated against. Would you say it would be okay for France to ban islam, or at least to keep its muslim citizens from having an ID, or having access to schools, etc only because they are muslim? If you say it would be unfair, then I should accuse you of double standards because you seem to not care about the rights of baha'is in your country, judging from the way you ended your entry. The fact that they are a minority should not be an excuse to treat them unfairly.
ReplyDeleteYou say you believe Buddha was a prophet: Buddha said that when you experience pain, you become more compassionate because you understand the pain of others. Maybe if you experience persecution in another country as a minority you'll understand how Baha'is feel. If you really believe Buddha was a prophet, then you should have more compassion.
Oh, and in another entry you mentioned that the money that the Universal House of Justice receives goes to their center in Israel: this fulfils a prophecy from the Bible in Isaiah 60:11, where it says that people from everywhere, from all nations, will pay a tribute to God's cause in Israel. This had never happened before.
You also say the Qur'an is perfect: Qur'an 3:7 itself denies this: some verses are clear, some open to interpretation. In fact, I heard that the Qur'an says that one day, Christians and Muslims will unite. If this is true, one interpretation is that the Baha'i faith is probably a path towards that unity.
wow , the case is still open as I see , good
ReplyDeletelook dear Saadya,yes the Quran and I don't know what is the relation between prefection and interpretation ,seriously there are verses old Arabs did not understand that have sceintific meaning now we can understand
also yes the Muslims ,Christians and all other people will be united under the Islam not Baha'ism
About Israel strangely there are Jewish sects that do not believe in the state of Israel at all ,as this is the forbiden land
again it is free world you can say what you want to say
Good on you for your attempt to investigate an issue, but i'm frankly surprised at the conclusion. I wonder what the inhabitants of Mecca thought about Muhammad PBUH and his "minority" band of followers?
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how religious percecution repeats itself again and again in history.
Most humerous of all is the fact that the Baha'is don't even want to be recognised as an "official" religion. All they are asking for, is to leave the space for religion blank, so they don't have to lie on the enrolment.
What amazes me again and again, is that dispite the persecution and ignorance that Muslims have to encounter throughout the western world, there are still people within their own jurisdictions that have no qualms about dismissing other peoples rights.
I apologise for the venting, but frankly, I'm just baffled by this phenomena, especially in a country as glorious as Egypt - which claims to be the most moderate and progressive of all Muslim countries.
M - Post Grad Student of M.E. and Islam Studies, and also a Baha'i.