This total dismissal of one’s own citizens is a scandal. Egypt’s Bahai population consists of about about 7,000 to 15,000, and they are regarded as enemies of state in part because the founder of this faith, Bahaullah, was buried in Israel (when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire).
The official government ID card lists a person’s religion. Muslim (Sunni and Shia), Christians, and Jews are obliged to list their religion, but not a Bahai. Consequently, the Bahai community will continue to have hardship in finding jobs, child custody, and marriage. Shia Muslims, who number under a million, and whose leaders have been murdered in the streets by Salafists, with little response from the Egyptian police, will also continue to suffer.
Under the new order to be legitimized by this constitution, free speech will be just a dream, as demonstrated by the silencing of Bassam Youssef, a popular satirist known as “Egypt’s Jon Stewart“. He gained popularity after January 25, 2011, and was credited for helping to remove the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) from power on June 30, 2013. In his first and the last episode in October of his show, which his father last week said will be resuming in February, he took aim at the public who idolized General Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. One company sought to cash in on this infatuation by creating a new chocolate brand with Al-Sisi’s name. Youssef took aim at this occurrence with his usual satire and his television show, which had 30 million viewers. A few days later the show was suspended. It is still off the air. Government censorship of the media, however, has not stopped Moussa from bragging about the article which, in the new constitution, supposedly protects freedom of expression.
To be fair, when General Al-Sisi sided with the majority of Egyptians and removed the Ikhwan from power, he put his life on the line with such a heroic act. But he should not be idolized as was Egypt’s former President, Gamal Abdel Nasser. Like any political leader, he is human and needs to be held accountable.
Moussa and the rest of Egypt’s leaders should consider that transparency, and respecting people’s right to conscience, is the only way for Egypt to move forward.
It is time for Egyptians to realize their dreams of a dignified life. Establishing a government that places the country’s military outside of civilian oversight, and creating a back door for theocrats to take over, is not the way to empower people or create a flourishing and stable society.
The Egyptian constitution, and the government it establishes, need to acknowledge the rights and dignity of all of its citizens. Any document that does otherwise, is an insult to the Almighty, in whose image we are created equal, and to the people over whom it rules.