Baha'is

Many people haven't heard of the Baha'i faith. They're a relatively new religion that started in Persia. Just like Christianity descended from Judaism, and Islam descended from those, the Baha'i faith is another offshoot. It's a universal faith that accepts Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and some others as being paths along the way to the final true religion - Baha'i.

The Baha'is I've met are very nice people and the religion is very peaceful and pretty tolerant. Unfortunately, the Baha'is are being persecuted in several Muslim countries, especially Iran. Islam allows people to convert to Islam, but you're not supposed to convert to something else. That's a crime (and before you start bitching about Islam, think about what could happen to Christians who wanted to convert to a different religion). So the Baha'is in some Muslim countries are former Muslims and face persecution. Well, they just won a small victory in Egypt.

The Egyptian government only allowed Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to be listed on identity cards (this started in the 1990s). So if you wanted an ID card, and weren't one of those 3 religions, you either had to lie or just not get one. But if you're stopped by the police they can demand that you produce an ID card, and if you don't have one that's a criminal offense. Well, the court in Egypt just changed that policy. Now you can get an ID card that does NOT list your religion. Hopefully the government won't appeal. This is good news for any Egyptians who aren't members of the Big Three religions.