BOS NEWS LIFE: CAIRO, EGYPT -- A former Muslim who converted to Christianity in Egypt was in hiding Sunday, March 8, after Islamic lawyers demanded that he be executed on charges of "apostasy," Egyptian Christians and rights investigators monitoring the trial said.
Middle East Concern (MEC), an advocacy group with closely follows the case, told BosNewsLife that Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary has been trying to obtain identification papers with Christianity designated as his religion, despite death threats.
"Maher is involved in a legal battle to officially change his religious registration from Islam to Christianity so that both he and his daughter may be identified as Christians," MEC said.
However at a trial on February 22 some 20 Islamic lawyers strongly opposed that move, MEC and other sources said.
Egyptian law allows Muslim lawyers to become involved in a court case if they believe the outcome will run counter to Islamic law "harmful" to society. "These lawyers described Maher as an apostate from Islam and asked that he be sentenced to death," MEC said. >>> BosNewsLife Middle East Service | Sunday, March 8, 2009
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