Berkley Center

As Egypt moves towards democracy, the issue of religious freedom is of central importance. Such freedom has to be at the root of all democracy. If individuals are not free to hold or put into practice beliefs about what is most important in life, and what is most worth pursuing, they cannot meaningfully contribute to the formation of public policy democratically arrived at. Religious institutions, as buffers between individual and state, must also be allowed to flourish, even if they are the preserve of minorities in a culture. Any attack on religious freedom is an attack on the heart of human freedom itself.

President Obama understands this. In his speech on the Middle East on May 19th, 2011, he gave his support to a set of universal rights that explicitly includes freedom of religion, and he referred to the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt. On May 26th he put this in a wider context in London in an eloquent address to an historic meeting of both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall, itself the repository of 900 years of English history. He said: "Through the struggles of slaves and immigrants, women and ethnic minorities, former colonies and persecuted religions, we have learnt better than most that the longing for freedom and human dignity is not English or American or Western – it is universal."

This becomes far from platitudinous in many Islamic states, where harsh interpretations of sharia law can involve the persecution of those suspected of apostasy. Mob attacks, whipped up by firebrands, can and do unleash terrible violence on minorities, not least Christians. One continuing problem is that there is no agreed interpretation of sharia, and so one is in the hands of local ‘experts.’ This means that any legal system based on sharia can appear arbitrary in comparison even with other Islamic countries, and there is little restraint on radical interpretations.

The plight of Christians in the Middle East continues to give particular cause for concern. After the downfall of Saddam Hussein, Christians in Iraq have suffered persecution, and are having to leave. The same process has been occurring in Palestine for longer. Christians in Bethlehem, of all places, have dwindled in numbers alarmingly. In Egypt itself, recent attacks on Coptic Churches signify a worrying trend. They are particularly ironic in that Christianity was rooted in Egypt, as elsewhere in the region, long before Islam arose.

What can be done as Egypt tries to establish a democracy? The import of a Western style secularism is unlikely to help, and is no doubt what many Muslims fear. The ‘separation of church and state’ may have worked in the United States, but it is the product of a particular local tradition, and the very different traditions of other countries may not be hospitable to the idea. The public recognition of religion (even a particular religion) need not imply a diminution of freedom for those who do not share that religion, any more than the election of one party to government in a democracy implies that those who voted for another party are no longer full citizens.

What is crucial is the acceptance of a full freedom to adopt, live by, and advocate, the religious beliefs one chooses. That implies that ‘apostasy’ cannot be accepted as a concept, and that laws must not be oppressive. Anyone must be free to leave the religion of their birth, and adopt another. No one should be penalized as a citizen because of the religion they belong to, or because they do not accept any. There can be no religious tests for public office. Because religions are of their nature communal and cannot flourish, teach, or be passed on without the existence of continuing institutions, there must be no legal barriers to such institutions as churches, synagogues or whatever. There should be no canny systems of official registration designed to block minorities functioning freely, and the life of minorities should be protected by the full force of law. The recognition of their rights must be part of a genuine democracy which does not succumb to the dictatorship of the majority.

Many fear ‘theocracy,’ the imposition of the rules of a religion by law even on those who do not accept that religion. Some think the only alternative is a secularism that treats religion as a private matter which has no place in the public square. No Islamic country could accept that, and the issue is even causing grave problems in Turkey which has a greater ‘secular’ tradition than most. There are intermediate points between the forcible imposition of the standards of a religion, and driving all religion from public view. An Islamic country, such as Egypt, particularly with its continuing Christian minority, must find a way to recognize the importance of freedom of religion for everyone, without being required to repudiate its own particular religious heritage. (It would be a bonus if it recognized that Christianity was also a part of that heritage). Such freedom includes the fullest freedom to live by one’s beliefs. Freedom of religion is much more than mere freedom of worship, and should not be reduced to that. It is an integral part of the human freedom and dignity, about which President Obama spoke.