Or does it? Twelve Egyptian converts to Christianity have had their conversions officially recognized by an Egyptian court — but only because they were Christians originally and then converted to Islam. This looks like a positive step, and it is certainly better than telling these people that they’re locked into Islam forever, but what about Muslims who were not Christians originally, who then convert to Christianity? And more importantly, what about those Muslims who might consider these people apostates from Islam and thus, according to the dictates of Islamic law, lawfully to be killed?
“Egypt recognizes Christian converts,” from the Jerusalem Post (thanks to Morgaan Sinclair):
Twelve Egyptian converts to Christianity have had their conversions officially recognized by an Egyptian court.
The 12 who were born Copts, converted to Islam and then converted back to their original faith.
The recognition of their new faith by the highest civil court in Egypt overturns an April 2007 ruling by a lower court forbidding them to convert to Christianity on the grounds that it would be apostasy.
The ruling is seen as a small victory for human rights advocates in Egypt.
“This is a very good step towards freedom of religion in Egypt,” Ramsis Raouf El-Naggar, a lawyer representing most of the defendants, told The Media Line.
Many Muslims see abandoning Islam as an act of apostasy, which is punishable by death.
Under the new ruling, the Egyptian Ministry of Interior will update the religious status on their identity cards and register them as Christians. The ID cards will say they adopted Islam for a brief period.
Valid ID cards are essential in Egypt for such routine matters as children’s schooling, job applications, and marriage….