Egyptian convert arrested for breaking non-existent law
An Egyptian woman who converted from Islam to Christianity has been arrested for marrying a Christian man, even though that is not illegal under Egypt’s penal code. (It is, however, illegal under sharia law.)
What’s more, the police carried out the arrest even though they don’t have a copy of the marriage contract.
Christian convert Raheal Henen Mussa and her Coptic husband are hiding from police and her Muslim family for violating an article of Islamic law (sharia) that doesn’t exist in the Egyptian penal code.
Police arrested Mussa, 22, on April 13 for marrying Sarwat George Ryiad in a customary marriage (zawag al ‘urfi), an unregistered form of matrimony in Egypt made without witnesses. It has gained popularity among Egyptian youth but is not sanctioned by most Islamic scholars.
The two signed a marriage contract between themselves. Only Ryiad and their attorney have a copy. Police have not obtained a copy of the contract, but they used its existence as a pretext for arresting Mussa.
So, under Egyptian law, no crime was committed, and Islamic scholars don’t even recognise the marriage. Why exactly was Raheal Henen Mussa arrested?
This is the latest in a long series of incidents of official persecution of Christian converts by Egyptian authorities.
Ex-Muslim Martha Samuel was arrested in December as she was about to leave Egypt with her family. She was reportedly raped and tortured while in custody. In January, she was granted bail by a judge who told a lawyer he wanted to kill her.
In November, a Coptic priest was sentenced to five years for marrying a Christian man and a woman who had converted from Islam to Christianity. In March 2008, a Christian husband and his wife were sentenced to ten years for getting married. She was a convert from Islam.
Exactly what law did these people violate?