The 'S-Word': Egyptian Movement Takes On Islamic Rule
In an increasingly Islamized Egypt, a group of activists vows to keep secularism alive, writes Ahmed Ateyya.
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — The small group of demonstrators stood silently in front of the Library of Alexandria by the city's Corniche waterfront promenade, carrying flags, banners, and showing their national identification cards to anyone who wanted a closer look Saturday.
Curious passers-by noticed that the religion fields in the protesters’ ID cards were deliberately obscured with black markers.
National identification cards have been a subject of controversy for at least a decade.
The state requires citizens to identify themselves in their official identity documents as Muslims, Christians, or Jews. Hundreds of rallies, conferences, and lawsuits have called for obliterating the religion field, or at least for allowing other affiliations to be included.
