We're all Egyptian

HAIFA, Israel, 26 December 2006 (BWNS) -- The Universal House of Justice, the highest governing body of the Baha'i Faith, has addressed a message to the Baha'is of Egypt in the wake of a 16 December Supreme Administrative Court decision in Cairo that upheld a discriminatory government policy regarding the Baha'is and their identification cards. The policy places the Baha'is in the untenable position of either having to make a false statement about their religious beliefs or give up their state identification cards. The cards are essential to accessing most rights of citizenship, including education, financial services, and even medical care.

Courtroom account - Denial of IDs to Egyptian Bahais

Read this courtroom account of the denial of IDs to Egyptian Bahais. Complete with photos and video! Reading the comments of some of the court-goers, it makes you think you are reading Dawnbreakers 2.0... (for those that aren't familiar, Dawnbreakers is a first hand account of the early days of the Bahai Faith, days filled with intense persecution.)

If this is your first time hearing of the case of the Egyptian Bahais, the Egyptian government requires that your religion be displayed on your ID. This ID is like our driver's license here in California, you need it for everything. The Egyptian government only allows three choices for religion - Muslim, Christian & Jew. So the Bahais are marginalized as second-class citizens because they must either go without identification or deny their belief.

(I found the link while reading Bahai Blog.)

Kramer

My friend Badi found this hilarious mix of Seinfeld clips commenting on the Michael Richards incident.

Thanks Badi!