Also seen as part of Abbas-Netanyahu stand-off over “Jewish” state
[RAMALLAH] – References to personal religious affiliation are being removed from identification cards for the first time since the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. Although the new regulation caught citizens by surprise, it appears to be a well-received assurance that the state-in-waiting will be secular rather than religious.
Describing the move as a “civilized” one, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hassan Alawi told The Media Line that, “We didn’t prepare the people for the decision, because it’s our right as a ministry to do so.” Alawi explained that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had issued a decision at the end of last year to remove all references to religious affiliation as of February 11, 2014, but many were not aware of the impending change.
Safa’Araj, who recently renewed her ID only to be surprised that the religion section was left blank, was typical of those pleased by the move. She told The Media Line that when she noticed the religion section was left blank she asked why “and discovered it’s a new regulation.” Born to a Christian family in Bethlehem, Araj has no problem with the decision. "On the contrary, it's time to move on," she said.
Nevertheless, the decision is not entirely removed from politics according to Al-Quds University professor Abdel Majid Swailem. He explained that, “It’s an important democratic step for the Palestinians, but also for the nature of the conflict. The roots of the conflict in the region are not religious. The leadership wants to show that citizenship is based on nationality and not religion. A real democracy shouldn’t be built on religion, and this could be a message for Israelis as well.”
Swailem was referring to the ongoing impasse between PA President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader is demanding that Abbas acknowledge the Jewish character of the state of Israel, but Abbas adamantly refuses to do so. On Sunday, he told a group of 250 visiting Israeli young people that if Netanyahu wants recognition of the “Jewish state,” he should “go to the United Nations and ask for it.”
The conflict with Israel aside, responses to the move varied in the Palestinian street. “It’s a brave step that many leaders in the Arab world can’t do,” said marketing manager Majid Faisal. “It’s a secular concept that we called for a long time ago.”
Others felt removing the religious designation from the government-issued identification was akin to removing religion itself. “I don’t understand such a move. I am proud of my religion and don’t see the need to remove it from the ID,” Fida’ Mousa, a 40-year-old housewife said as she strolled the main streets of Ramallah.
Some religious scholars warned of attempts to transform Palestine into a civil state, permitting previously banned behaviors such as allowing civil marriages. But according to Alawi, they need not worry — Palestinians still need to abide by the Palestinian law.
According to the Palestinian constitution, people follow their fathers’ religion. Changing one’s religion is only allowed one way: from Christianity to Islam.
Religion will continue to be declared in the birth certificate, and civil marriages will not be permitted because of the decision to omit religious affiliation in the ID card. But “the birth certificate, which is not used daily, will be needed to prove one’s original religion,” according to Alawi, who suggested that the new regulation will have the benefit of removing discrimination in daily life.
The majority of Palestinians are Muslims. Fewer than ten per cent of residents of the West Bank are Christians, and only a few thousand live in the Gaza Strip.
“Employers or soldiers at checkpoints could, until now, discriminate against people based on their religious affiliations,” Alawi said arguing that such a move should have happened a long time ago and would have if the Israelis, who control the format of Palestinian documents, had not prevented it. He illustrated his point about Israeli control by referring to the incident last week when 70 Gazans seeking to enter Israel for medical treatment were prevented from doing so until the words “State of Palestine” were removed from their medical referral letters.
Alawi said that the interior ministry is also asking Israel to remove the occupation section from the Palestinian passport.