Egypt Rejects US Criticism on Religious Freedom

Egypt Rejects US Criticism on Religious Freedom

The US State Department’s condemnations on Egypt’s religious freedom was not met with lightly after officials stressed that the US was in no position to liberally make a judgment on the matter.

According to foreign ministry spokesman, Hossam Zaki, Egypt refuses to accept any country appointing itself a judge on the performance of any independent and sovereign state, adding that Egypt is only concerned with reports released by the United Nations, which reviews the extent to which international law on human rights has been implemented in any country.

The annual International Religious Freedom Report slammed religious freedom in Egypt, noting that Egypt’s respect for religious freedom remained poor and unchanged from the previous year.

The report stressed that members of Egypt’s strongest and most popular political opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, remain subject to arbitrary detention and pressure from the government. It also said that Christians and members of the Baha’i faith faced discrimination.