A court in Egypt has separated a mother from her two children because she is an atheist. The decision to refuse custody of the children came from a family court in Cairo last Sunday, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reports.
RFI gives no further details of the case but notes that it comes in the midst of a nationwide crackdown on atheism. In Egyptian media, disbelief in God is increasingly presented as a form of extremism which threatens national security.
This week's court ruling is thought to be the first child custody case hinging on a parent's atheism but it is not entirely unprecedented.
In 2009, a 73-year-old Egyptian Muslim man was awarded custody of his seven-year-old grandson because the boy’s parents had changed their religion, converting to the Baha’i faith.
The grandfather, Mohammad Abdul Fatah, said he had gone to court after seeking advice from Egypt’s Grand Mufti: “He advised me to consider my daughter dead, and to file a lawsuit to demand the guardianship of my grandchild.” The court ruling could not be enforced, however, as the parents had already emigrated with their son. [al-bab.com] Read more
