USCIRF member praised religious freedom in Egypt
Egypt-USA, Politics, 5/19/2001

Laila Maraiti, member of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Thursday termed as "incomplete" a report issued by the commission on its delegation's visit to Egypt late in March.

Maraiti, the only Muslim in the nine-strong commission, said any talk about religious oppression or discrimination in Egypt is "an inaccurate ruling".

The delegation had spent just four days in Egypt and this is not enough to study the religious situation in Egypt, she said.

Maraiti who is a doctor of a Palestinian origin, added that the report should have cited major developments which Egypt has fulfilled in terms of religious freedom.

She said that the development in religious freedom in Egypt in Egypt came as no surprise to her, adding that she understands sensitivity with which various circles in Egypt dealt with the commission delegation's visit.

The visit was part of a tour that included Saudi Arabia, Palestinian self-rule areas and Israel.

The delegation held meetings with Egyptian government officials, Islamic and Christian clerics, human rights representatives and law professors.

Set up under Congress legislation in 1988, the USCIRF is an independent panel whose members are chosen by both Republican and Democratic parties and does not include government officials or Congressmen.

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