The April edition of Egypt Today details the renewed suspicion with which official and unofficial Egypt treats its minority Shi'ite citizens in light of developments in Iraq. Written by Hadia Mostafa, the article, entitled "A Restless Minority?", is subheaded, "As the region's Shi'a angle for power, a clampdown on the sect in Egypt is launched."
The recent crackdown included a police raid on a group of Shi'ites who were arrested for allegedly printing sectarian books and leaflets, and a group of Shi'ites arbitrarily arrested after a religious squabble led one brother to denounce his Shi'ite convert sibling as promoting "heretical religious beliefs".
In fact, the article notes, the head of a quasi-Shi'ite organization called the Supreme Council of Ahl El-Bayt was arrested and "disappeared" with no explanation just prior to a scheduled interview with Egypt Today.
Describing the interrogations of some of those Shi'ites arrested in a December sweep, Mostafa reports, a human rights activist "says they claim to have been harshly interrogated by the authorities and to have been asked questions such as 'How do you pray?' and 'How do you regard certain companions of the Prophet Mohammed [PBUH]?'" One detainee "claimed that [the detainees] were stripped naked, handcuffed and beaten. Later, they received electric shocks on their heads, tongues, ears and genitals," the activist is quoted as telling the author of the Egypt Today article.
The English-language magazine describes how most of the 700,000 (according to the US State Department) to 2 million (according to Shi'ite sources) Shi'ites in Egypt live quiet, nearly secretive, lives. Whenever Shi'ite activism has been noticeable, Mostafa reports, the "government's reaction has, for the most part, been unsympathetic." Even in times when there is no government crackdown, the article notes in passing, there are no official, public places of Shi'ite worship, nor any public observations of their sect-specific holidays.
As noted by the Egypt Today writer, "in response to a recent crackdown on Shi'a activists," Ahmad Rasem Al-Nafis, a Shi'ite university professor from Mansura submitted an official request to the Religious Affairs Department of the Ministry of Interior asking that the Shi'a be recognized as an official religious minority in Egypt. However, Mostafa writes, "Insiders at the Ministry doubt the request will be approved, noting Shi'a activists pose 'national unity and security threats.'"
"Helwan University political scientist Gehad Auda claims Shi'a throughout the region have historically been very organized," the article relates. Auda is quoted as saying, "Egypt as a political system doesn't like organized communities of any sort outside the official authority. ...The status of the Shi'a in particular is a sensitive issue with the government, because they have always been regarded as having an autonomous authority outside the state wherever they exist."
"Since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the prospect of a connection between Egyptian Shi'a and Tehran has been particularly worrisome for government security agencies," the Egypt Today article explains.
Getting another expert opinion, the article continues: "'You can't help but connect the government's sudden paranoia about the Shi'a with what's been happening in Iraq,' says Hossam Bahgat, program director for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a human rights organization that provides legal assistance to those whose personal or religious freedoms have been violated.
"'Ordinary people are now reading more in the papers about the Shi'a than they have in quite some time. I think State Security is trying to send a message to the local Shi'a community with the random arrests of suspected Shi'a that have recently taken place. They are, in effect, telling them not to seek empowerment,' Bahgat alleges."
The recent crackdown included a police raid on a group of Shi'ites who were arrested for allegedly printing sectarian books and leaflets, and a group of Shi'ites arbitrarily arrested after a religious squabble led one brother to denounce his Shi'ite convert sibling as promoting "heretical religious beliefs".
In fact, the article notes, the head of a quasi-Shi'ite organization called the Supreme Council of Ahl El-Bayt was arrested and "disappeared" with no explanation just prior to a scheduled interview with Egypt Today.
Describing the interrogations of some of those Shi'ites arrested in a December sweep, Mostafa reports, a human rights activist "says they claim to have been harshly interrogated by the authorities and to have been asked questions such as 'How do you pray?' and 'How do you regard certain companions of the Prophet Mohammed [PBUH]?'" One detainee "claimed that [the detainees] were stripped naked, handcuffed and beaten. Later, they received electric shocks on their heads, tongues, ears and genitals," the activist is quoted as telling the author of the Egypt Today article.
The English-language magazine describes how most of the 700,000 (according to the US State Department) to 2 million (according to Shi'ite sources) Shi'ites in Egypt live quiet, nearly secretive, lives. Whenever Shi'ite activism has been noticeable, Mostafa reports, the "government's reaction has, for the most part, been unsympathetic." Even in times when there is no government crackdown, the article notes in passing, there are no official, public places of Shi'ite worship, nor any public observations of their sect-specific holidays.
As noted by the Egypt Today writer, "in response to a recent crackdown on Shi'a activists," Ahmad Rasem Al-Nafis, a Shi'ite university professor from Mansura submitted an official request to the Religious Affairs Department of the Ministry of Interior asking that the Shi'a be recognized as an official religious minority in Egypt. However, Mostafa writes, "Insiders at the Ministry doubt the request will be approved, noting Shi'a activists pose 'national unity and security threats.'"
"Helwan University political scientist Gehad Auda claims Shi'a throughout the region have historically been very organized," the article relates. Auda is quoted as saying, "Egypt as a political system doesn't like organized communities of any sort outside the official authority. ...The status of the Shi'a in particular is a sensitive issue with the government, because they have always been regarded as having an autonomous authority outside the state wherever they exist."
"Since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the prospect of a connection between Egyptian Shi'a and Tehran has been particularly worrisome for government security agencies," the Egypt Today article explains.
Getting another expert opinion, the article continues: "'You can't help but connect the government's sudden paranoia about the Shi'a with what's been happening in Iraq,' says Hossam Bahgat, program director for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a human rights organization that provides legal assistance to those whose personal or religious freedoms have been violated.
"'Ordinary people are now reading more in the papers about the Shi'a than they have in quite some time. I think State Security is trying to send a message to the local Shi'a community with the random arrests of suspected Shi'a that have recently taken place. They are, in effect, telling them not to seek empowerment,' Bahgat alleges."