Two Coptic Christian thirteen year old twins, Andrew and Mario Medhat Ramsis, have been pressured to convert to Islam against their will in order to continue studies according to the Christian BosLifeNews Network. Their father changed their birth certificate without notifying the boys or their mother, thus when they gave their final exam on religion the boys were unprepared for their test on Islam. The Egyptian Court will decide whether the boys’ failure will prohibit the boys from continuing with their studies.
Andrew and Mario were born into a Christian home. The boys’ father left the family to marry a Muslim woman. Since the Sharia law states that a Muslim woman can only marry a Muslim man, the boys’ father converted to Islam. The boys’ father tried to convert his former wife to Islam. The father wanted to remarry his old wife and keep his new wife, because Islam allows a man to have four wives. Although he was unsuccessful in converting his wife, he did change the boys’ religious preference to Islam on their birth certificates without alerting the boys or their mother. The religion on the children’s birth certificate is very important, because if a Muslim converts to another religion in Egypt, which can be punishable by death.
The boys’ father also requested custody of the boys. Although Egyptian common law provides that the children should live with their mother until the age of fifteen, the actual application of the law only applies to Muslim women. This is because of another conflicting Egyptian law granting custody of children to whichever parent of a child is Muslim. The Egyptian government’s justification is that Islam is the highest religion therefore the children should not be subjected to practice a lower religion.
The immediate impacts of the father’s action is the boys’ failure of their Islamic exam. Since they had been raised as Christians and had not known about their father’s changing of their religion they were unable to actually study for the test. They failed their Islamic Exam, because each boy wrote “I am Christian” and did not fill out the rest of the exam. The failure has prohibited the boys from passing their grades, although they excelled in their other classes. The education minister has allowed the children to continue on their education, however, the court will make the final binding decision.
This issue of the importance of the religion of the birth certificate has been ignored by the Egyptian government. Since the government has strongly supported Islam it has made it difficult for the Christians, Jews, and especially less represented religions like the Baha’i. The government only recognizes three religions Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The government requires every birth certificate to have a declared religious preference so that it can monitor whether a Muslim converts to another religion causing apostasy. This regulatory action creates a tier of citizenship where the government favors Muslims over other religions. This tier like system creates an opportunity for both official regulatory discrimination from the government and unchecked intimidation on the second tier of citizens from a religious minority.
The government must choose to honor the civil law and allow the children to be able to practice the religion that they have always practiced. Otherwise, it will create a situation where a child’s parents can convert to Islam, change the child’s religious preference, and the children would be severely punished if they continue to practice the religion that they have always followed.
The Free Copts. The Egyptian Coptic Christian Twins Andrew and Mario beg your help to stop their Islamization. 4 August 2007.
The Free Copts. Egyptian twins forced to ‘become’ Muslim. 5 September 2007.
Watani International. Andrew and Mario refuse to be considered non-Christian.Accessed 6 September 2007.
Watani International. Andrew and Mario. Accessed 6 September 2007.
Baha’i Faith in Egypt. Egypt’s Administrative Court Decides Case of Twins Tomorrow. 3 September 2007.
WorldNetDaily. Decision delayed for boys forced into Islam. 6 September 2007.
BosNewsLife. Egypt Christian Teenage Twins “Forced” To Become Muslims. 5 September 2007.