Iraq’s highest appellate court has upheld a decision allowing a Christian woman to have her religious affiliation officially recorded as Christian, reversing a Muslim designation imposed on her under national law.

The woman, identified by the pseudonym Maryam, had been classified as Muslim in government records despite identifying as a Christian. ADF International, which supported her legal challenge, said the ruling requires Iraqi officials to correct the designation.

Maryam and her two sisters were raised in a Christian household. After their mother separated from their father and married a Muslim man, however, Iraqi law automatically registered the children as Muslim, according to the legal advocacy group.

The change was based on Article 26(2) of Iraq’s National Card Law No. 3 of 2016, which states that “minor children shall follow the religion of the parent who has converted to Islam.”

After reaching the legal age to act independently, Maryam filed her case in January 2025 and requested that the government recognize her as Christian. A lower court ruled in her favor in May, concluding that she had the right to choose her religion and have it accurately reflected in the state database. Iraq’s Court of Cassation upheld that decision last week.

Kelsey Zorzi, senior counsel and director of advocacy for global religious freedom at Alliance Defending Freedom, welcomed the ruling, saying it gives Maryam the freedom to ensure that her government records accurately reflect her Christian faith.

“Christians and other religious minorities across Iraq and the broader Middle East suffer real harm when governments assign them a religion that is not their own,” Zorzi said.

She argued that individuals, rather than government authorities, should determine their own religious identity, particularly in societies where religion can affect marriage, inheritance and other family-law matters.

ADF International said inaccurate or imposed religious classifications in Iraq and countries including Bangladesh, Egypt, Malaysia and Pakistan can require children to participate in religious education that conflicts with their beliefs and can create obstacles to marriage.

Such designations can also complicate inheritance and family-law disputes and may subject non-Muslims to legal decisions under Sharia, the organization said. 

Although Iraq does not display religion on physical identification cards, the government retains the information in an internal database, where the classification can still carry significant personal and legal consequences.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” including the freedom to choose one’s own religion.