Middle East News
Egyptian court rules in favour of converts to Christianity
Feb 9, 2008, 13:07 GMT
Cairo - Thirteen Egyptians who converted back to Christianity from Islam have won a court appeal to have their conversion officially recognised by the state, sources said Saturday.
At least 457 Christians have converted to Islam for various reasons such as marrying a Muslim or escaping family difficulties. Egypt's Ministry of Interior refused to recognize those who decided to return to Christianity, sparking the appeal to the Cairo Administrative Court by 13 converts.
'This court ruling marks a historical event not only for me, but for all my fellow Christians who have been demanding the conversion to Christianity after practicing Islam for some time,' Yasser Rizk, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
'I practiced Islam only to marry a Muslim woman. When I divorced her I wanted to be a Christian again,' said another.
Lawyer for the thirteen Ramsis al-Naggar told dpa that the court decision will also be applied to 44 other cases and he described the ruling as 'a step forward towards a true freedom of belief in Egypt.'
In April 2007, the court had refused to rule in favour of 45 Muslims who wanted to revert back to Christianity.
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