CAIRO: A lawyer representing a man who converted from Islam to Christianity told Daily News Egypt Sunday that he plans to initiate a legal case demanding equality between all converts.
Lawyer Ashraf Edward Kirolos, who represents convert Mohamed Hegazy, said that he will file an appeal at the Administrative Court demanding that it implement the same legal grounds and standards the court used to compel the Ministry of Interior to issue an ID card for a woman who converted from Christianity to Islam, with “Islam” in the religion field.
“The district that issued the verdict in favor of that woman was the same district that previously refused a similar request by my client and referred his case to the Constitutional Court,” Kirolos explained.
"The legal grounds of the verdict issued for (the woman) who converted from Christianity to Islam were based on international treaties and conventions, as well as the Islamic Sharia which guarantees freedom of religion," he said.
He complained that the Court didn’t use the same legal grounds for those who convert from Islam to Christianity.
Kirolos said that he would file a report to the Supreme Constitutional Court demanding a swift ruling on the case.
He added that he would also file a lawsuit against the judges in the Administrative Court because they issued two contradictory rulings.
Mohamed Hegazy, 26, who changed his name to Bishoy Armia Boules, filed a lawsuit in 2007 demanding that his religious affiliation be changed on his national ID card and other official documents.
This led to conflicts between human rights and religious organizations, especially since he married a Muslim woman, who had also converted to Christianity and changed her name from Zeinab to Christine.
