Egyptian law does not recognize Islamic conversions for those less than 18 years of age, said Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, on Monday. The statement came a day after his meeting with a delegation of priests from the Minya Diocese, with whom he discussed the issue of Christian minors converting to Islam.
The issue of conversion has long been a sensitive one in Egypt. Many Christians view Egptian law as discriminatory because it allows Christians to convert to Islam but prohibits conversions from Islam to Christianity.
Violence erupted in the Cairo district of Imbaba in May, leaving a dozen people dead and more than 240 injured, sparked by rumors that an alleged Christian convert to Islam was being held captive in a church.
Earlier this month, two Christian girls ran away from home in Minya, Upper Egypt and travelled to Cairo, where they proclaimed their conversion to Islam. Coptic Christians in Minya organized mass protests demanding the girls’ return.
The Egyptian prosecution is now investigating accusations, put forward by the girls’ families, that three Muslim brothers were behind the conversion of 16-year-old Christine Ezzat Fathi and 14-year-old Nancy Magdy Fathi to Islam.
Security authorities said they found the two girls on Thursday, and handed them over to the public prosecutor on Saturday. The girls declared they had not been kidnapped and had converted to Islam. The Church, however, asserted that since the two girls are still minors, they have no right to convert to another religion.
The statement added that Tayyeb confirmed that "one of the procedural rules governing the legal registration of Islam for Egyptians is that those under the age of 18 cannot officially declare their conversion to Islam."
He went on to say that official conversion to Islam is also rejected if it is "for personal gain, family pressures, or desire to marry,” and that Al-Azhar’s Commission for Embracing Islam may “spend several days making sure that the person wants to convert to Islam voluntarily and as a result of their own desire."
Translated from the Arabic Edition
