CAIRO: Two Egyptian converts to Christianity engaged in a legal battle against the Egyptian authorities have gone missing, sparking fears for their lives.
Mohamed Hegazi and his pregnant wife Zeinab have both been missing since Monday, and they are not answering repeated calls to their cell phone, their attorney told The Media Line.
The lawyer, Ramsis Raouf Al Naggar, said it was unclear who was responsible for their disappearance. It could be a number of groups, including radical Muslims, terrorists or even the Egyptian police, Al Naggar said.
“He hadn’t left his home in a month, the lawyer said, citing death threats.
After changing his faith from Islam to Christianity, Hegazi filed a suit against the Egyptian government for refusing to recognize his new religion in his national identification card.
As well as switching religion, Mohamed wanted to change his name to Bechoy and Zeinab wanted her name registered as Christine.
Hegazi was unable to attend the first hearing at the beginning of October, due to security reasons. His next hearing was scheduled for Nov. 13.
The couple also wants their unborn child, due in January, to be registered as a Christian. This would enable the child to study in Christian religious classes, marry in a church and practice the faith without facing harassment.
Christian organizations have been advocating on behalf of Hegazi to help have his faith and new identity officially recognized.
According to Open Doors, an organization representing persecuted Christians, conversion from one faith to another is permitted in Egypt, but the Interior Ministry refuses to issue new ID cards for Muslims who have converted to Christianity and these converts face persecution. As a result, the organization says many of these converts are forced into hiding.
Nearly 10 percent of Egypt’s 76 million inhabitants are Christians, mostly Coptic. They say they face discrimination from the Egyptian authorities.
Al Naggar said one of Hegazi’s houses had been broken into and trashed. The police have so far taken a written statement, but Al Naggar said they were not taking action on the grounds that they did not have enough information. The Media Line Ltd.
