WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2009) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on June 15, an Egyptian court delivered a conflicting ruling to a Christian mother seeking custody of her twin boys. While the court granted her custody of the twins, it required that they be considered Muslims despite their own express desire to remain Christian.

The legal battle over the custody and religious identity of Mario and Andrew followed the divorce of their parents in 2000. Their father left their mother for a Muslim woman and converted to Islam because it is easier for Muslims to get a divorce in Egypt. He asked for custody of the boys in 2007 and changed the religious affiliation on their birth certificates from Christianity to Islam without their consent.

Andrew and Mario just celebrated their 15th birthday on June 24 and now face the new legal challenge of getting an ID listing them as Christians. Their mother, Camilia, told ICC and the Voice of Copts that officials at the Interior Ministry promised to indicate the twins' faith on their ID cards, but there is no guarantee that this will happen.

According to Egyptian laws, religious affiliation of citizens must be indicated on their IDs. Citizens need to carry their IDs in order to get government as well as private services such as education, employment and to perform bank transactions. Having Islam listed on the ID card could disqualify a person from getting Christian education, to cite an example of the importance of religious affiliation being listed correctly.

When ICC asked Camilia if she would go to court to request Christian IDs for her children, she said she did not believe the court would honor her request. Mohammed Hegazy and Maher al-Moatassem Bellah al-Gohary are the only two Christian converts in Egypt to request that their Muslim IDs be changed to reflect their Christian faith, and the courts refused both requests.

When asked why they decided to remain Christian, Andrew responded, "I love Christ and I believe in Him." Mario told ICC, "I am born Christian and I believe in Christianity and I am not going to change my faith."

Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa and the Middle East, said, "We commend the Egyptian authorities for giving Camilia custody of her children, but we are concerned that Egyptian officials will deny the twins ID cards that reflect their faith. We call upon Egypt to respect the right of Andrew and Mario to follow the religion of their choice."

Please contact the Egyptian Embassy and ask Egyptian officials to recognize the right of Andrew and Mario to choose their own faith.

Egyptian Embassies:

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