Violating Egyptian law, Egyptian state security forces prevented Mr. Abdul Latif Saied, the representative of the International Quranic Center in Egypt, from attending a conference in the United States on “The Future of Relations between the US and the Muslim world.” The conference is being held in Washington on May 5, 2009. Others invited to the conference are Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, the first Muslim-American Congressman, Keith Ellison, and other distinguished Muslim politicians, intellectuals, and activists of democracy and human rights. Mr. Abdul Latif Saied intended to give speech on the future of peace in the Middle East.

It should be noted that the organizer of this conference is the Center of the Study of Islam and Democracy or CSID, which released a high-profile letter to President Obama calling for his support in strengthening democracy in the Middle East. More than 150 scholars and activists for democracy, including the International Quranic Center, have signed this letter.

Between May and October 2007, Abdul Latif was detained and tortured, along with four of his relatives, because of his writings on the Islamic reform website Ahl Alquran. The state security’s harassment of Abdul Latif continued after his release.

The right to travel and the right to express one’s opinion freely are guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Egypt is a signatory to. The Egyptian judiciary has not issued any formal ban on Abdul Latif’s travel. Therefore, we see this incident as a clear violation of both international and Egyptian law. This incident is the latest in a series of cases of harassment against the Quranists, Bahai’s and many others in Egypt. Egypt has turned into a big prison under the state Emergency Law.

The International Quranic Center in Washington condemns this flagrant violation of the rights of Abdel-Latif Saied. The center will pursue legal measures to stand against this violation of human rights of Egyptians.

For more information on the conference and CSID, please go to: https://www.csidonline.org/annual-conference/10th-annual-conference/agenda