The republic of Egypt has recognized Islam as the state religion since 1980. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. At least 80% of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims, many of whom follow local Sufi orders, and a small number are Shi'a. This article is about the contemporary North African ethnic group Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفیگری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Much of the rest of the population are Christians, the large majority of whom belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the World Factbook estimates that they constitute about 8 million, or 10%, of the Egyptian population. The World Factbook ( ISSN; also known as the CIA World Factbook) is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the However, Coptic Christian estimates say that they constitute up to 20% of the total population [1]. History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the Christians are geographically dispersed throughout the country, although the percentage of Christians tends to be higher in upper (southern) Egypt and some sections of Cairo and Alexandria. Cairo () which means "the Vanquisher" or "the Triumphant" is the capital and largest city of Egypt. Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια [2][3]
Prior to Napoleon's invasion, almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Ottoman rule reinforced the public and political roles of the ulama (religious scholars) because Islam was the state religion and because political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish Ulema ( ar علماء,, singular ar عالِم,, "scholar" refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, successive governments made extensive efforts to limit the role of the ulama in public life and to bring religious institutions under closer state control. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The twentieth century of the Common Era began on The secular transformation of public life in Egypt depended on the development of a civil bureaucracy that would absorb many of the ulama's responsibilities in the country. Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion.
After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and religious schools. The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 (ثورة 23 يوليو 1952 also known as the July 23 Revolution, began with a military Coup d'état that took place on A "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller privately owned mosque and the larger The government mandated reform of Al-Azhar University beginning in 1961. Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR" الأزهر الشريف, "the Noble Azhar" in Egypt, founded in 975 is the chief centre of Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. These reforms permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally trained orthodox ulama.
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Islam in Egyptian society
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As of 1990, Egyptian Islam was a complex and diverse religion. Listing of Muslims by country Important note Population counts by religious affiliation like most demographic characteristics of a Population The precise number of Muslims in Africa is unknown as statistics regarding religious demography in Africa are incomplete Islam, the religion of almost all of the Algerian people pervades most aspects of life Islam in Angola is a minority religion with 80000-90000 adherents composed largely of migrants from West Africa and families of Lebanese origin According to the 2002 census 271 percent of the population of Benin is Roman Catholic, 24 Islam in Botswana comprises only 2-3 percent of the population Islam in Burkina Faso ( Upper Volta) has a long and varied history Muslims in Burundi are officially around 1% of the total population though Muslim Burundians estimate the figure to be closer to 8-10% Muslims comprise roughly 22 percent of Cameroon 's 18 million inhabitants According to the US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2006 there is a small Muslim community in Cape Verde Islam accounts for approximately 22% of the population of the Central African Republic, making it the second most followed organized religion in the country The earliest Islamic presence in Chad can be traced back to the legendary Uqba ibn Nafi, whose descendants can be found settled in the Lake Chad region to this day According to the 2006 estimate by the US Department of State, roughly 98% of the population in the Comoros are Muslim. Islam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is not a recent phenomenon as it has been present within the area since the 18th century when Arab traders from Islam spread to the Republic of the Congo from North Africa in the mid-19th century According to the CIA factbook, Muslims make up about 35-40% of the population of Côte d'Ivoire. Islam in Djibouti has a long history first appearing in East Africa during the lifetime of Muhammad. According to the US State Department International Religious Freedom Report 2006 practicioners of Islam comprised less than 1 percent of the population of Equatorial Although reliable statistics are not available it is estimated that 50 percent of the population of Eritrea is Sunni Muslim and 49 percent is Christian. According to the latest 1994 national census Islam is the second most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with approximately one third (32 Approximately 12% of the population of Gabon practice Islam (of which 80 to 90 percent are foreigners Islam is the majority religion of The Gambia, with around 90% of the population being Muslims The spread of Islam into West Africa, beginning with ancient Ghana in the ninth century was mainly the result of the commercial activities of North African 2005 official statistics for Islam in Guinea estimate that 85% of Guinea 's 7 Islam is the predominate religion of Guinea-Bissau, numbering an estimated 38-45% of the roughly 1 Islam is the religion of approximately 10% of the Kenyan population or approximately 3 According to Adherents the Muslim population of Lesotho in 2000 was 1000 or 0 Islam in Liberia is practiced by 10% of the population The vast majority of Liberian Muslims are Sunni, with only a few Shi'ites, mostly of Lebanese origin Most Libyans adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, which provides both a spiritual guide for individuals and a keystone for government policy Islam has been well-established in what is now known as Madagascar for centuries and today Muslims represent 7% of the population or approximately 1 Islam is the second largest religion in Malawi after Christianity; nearly all of Malawi's Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam. Muslims currently make up approximately 90 percent of the population of Mali, the largest country in West Africa. Virtually all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims. They adhere to the Maliki Madhab, one of the four Sunni schools of law The 1968 constitution of Mauritius recognized four religious categories Hindus, Muslims Sino-Mauritians and the general population Islam is the largest religion in Morocco, with roughly 987% of the population adhering to it Islam in Mozambique is the religion of approximately four million Mozambicans or about 17 Islam is the third largest religion in Namibia after Christianity and indigenous beliefs 90% of the Nigerien population—approximately 113 million people—are followers of Islam', with a majority of those being linked to the Tijaniya Fifty percent of the population of Nigeria adheres to Islam. Islam came to Northern Nigeria as early as the ninth century and was Islam was first introduced into Rwanda by Muslim traders from the East Coast of Africa in the 18th century São Tomé and Príncipe, with a total population of about 181000 has about 5500 Muslim inhabitants about 3 percent of the population Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal. Ninety-four percent of the country's population is estimated to be Muslim Islam in the Indian Ocean was established by Muslim Sea Merchants well before the European discovery of Seychelles. Statistics for Islam in Sierra Leone estimate a Muslim population of 3610585 representing around 60 percent of the country's total population Nearly all Somalis are Sunni Muslims Practicing Islam reinforces distinctions that further set Somalis apart from their immediate African neighbors many of whom are either Christians Islam in South Africa predates the colonial period and consisted of isolated contact with Arab and East African traders Sudan is a religiously mixed country although Muslims have dominated national government institutions since independence in 1956 The population of Swaziland is approximately 35 percent Protestant, 30 percent African Zionist, 25 percent Catholic, and 1 percent Muslim. Islam is as of 2007 the largest religion (or may be the second after Christianity) in Tanzania with 35% of the population of the mainland ( Tanganyika) Muslims in Togo represent between 137 and 55% of the national population Islam is the official state religion in Tunisia Approximately 98 percent of the population of Tunisia is nominally Muslim. According to the National Census 2002 Islam is practiced by 12 According to the CIA World Factbook, Muslims make up nearly 100% of the population of the Western Sahara. The arrival of Islam in Zambia dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established emirates on the coast of East Africa. Estimates on the number Muslims in Zimbabwe vary from as low as 120000 to as many as 1 Islam began in Asia in the 7th century during the life of Muhammad. Approximately 99 percent of Afghans are Muslims and out of them eighty percent are Sunni of the Hanafi School the rest are Shi'a, the majority of Islam in Armenia has generally been avoided throughout the centuries See also Religion in Azerbaijan Approximately 934 to 96 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is nominally Muslim. Islam is the state religion in Bahrain where the citizens are all Muslims with the majority of the population practicing Shia Islam. Islam is the largest religion of Bangladesh, the Muslim population is over 130 million (the fourth-largest muslim population in the world after According to adherentscom Muslims constitute over 5% of the population However the CIA factbook claims that Muslims are less than 1% in Bhutan Islam is Brunei 's official religion 64 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunnis of Malay origin who follow the Shafi school Islam is a Minority religion in primarily Buddhist country of Burma, practiced by approximately 4% of the population Islam is the religion of a majority of the Cham (also called Khmer Islam) and Malay minorities in Cambodia. Islam in China has a rich heritage China has some of the oldest Muslim history dating back to as early as 650 when the uncle of Islam is practiced in Hong Kong by somewhere between 20000 and 100000 Muslims. Adherentscom states that the number of Muslims in Macau is 100 Islam in Cyprus was introduced when Uthman the 3rd Caliph conquered Cyprus in 649. Islam is a minority religion in East Timor. The US State Department and the CIA World Factbook estimate that Muslims make up 1% of the population although some organizations Islam in Georgia was introduced in 645 AD when an army sent by the Second Caliph of Islam Umar, conquered Eastern Georgia Islam in India is the second-most practiced religion after Hinduism. Islam is Indonesia's dominant Religion with approximately 88% over 200 million of its population identifying as Muslims, making it the most The Islamic conquest of Persia (637-651 led to the end of the Sassanid Empire and the eventual decline of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia. The history of Islam in Iraq goes back several centuries to the lifetime of Muhammad (d Islam in Israel and Palestinian territories includes the Muslims of Israel, where they constitute 16% of the population those who comprise 75% of the population of The history of Islam in Japan is relatively brief in relation to the Religion 's longstanding presence in other countries around the world More than 90 percent of population in Jordan adhered to Sunni Islam in the late 1980s Islam is the largest religion practiced in Kazakhstan. Ethnic Kazakhs are historically Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. In South Korea, the Muslim population has been steadily increasing since the introduction of the Islamic faith shortly after the Korean War. Islam is the main religion of the citizens of Kuwait Sunni Islam is dominant in Kuwait with 60% of the total population The vast majority of today's Kyrgyz are Muslims of the Sunni branch which came into the region during the 8th century Muslims are a small minority in this Buddhist majority country Islam in Lebanon is divided between four Muslim sects Shiites Sunnis, Alawites and Ismailis including the Druze. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, and the Government actively promotes the spread of Islam in the country and its friendship with other Muslim countries Islam is the state religion of Maldives, and adherence to it is legally required of citizens by a revision of the constitution in 2008 Article 9 Section D states that Islam in Mongolia is mainly practised by the Kazakhs of Bayan-Ölgii (88 Islam is a minority religion in NepalAccording to a 2006 Nepalese census 4 The majority of Omanis are Ibadhi Muslims, followers of Abd Allah ibn Ibad Islam is the official religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. This article is concerned with the religion of Islam in the Philippines Qatar is a Muslim-majority country with Islam as the state religion Islam is currently the second most widely professed religion in the Russian Federation The vast majority of Saudis are Sunni Muslims. Around 10% of citizens are Shia Muslims, most of whom live in the Eastern Province, with the largest concentrations Sunni Islam is the religion of about 15% of Singapore 's population mainly the sizeable Malay minority who constitute about 13 Islam in Sri Lanka is practised by a group of minorities who make up approximately 10% of the population Islam in Syria is composed of a Sunni majority and four minority sects Twelver Shiites, and also Druze (which is not an Islamic sect Alawi Islam in Taiwan is a slowly growing religion (about 03% of the population it could be higher if included nominally Muslims from Indonesia with an estimated 100 converts annually Islam in Tajikistan. Demographics and early history Islam, the predominant religion of all of Central Asia, was brought Islam is most popular in southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia, where the vast majority of the country's Muslims predominantly Malay The region comprising modern Turkey has a long and rich Islamic tradition stretching back to the dawn of the Seljuk period and Ottoman Empire. Traditionally the Turkmen of Turkmenistan, like their kin in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, are Sunni Muslims. More than 80% of the population of the UAE are non-citizens Virtually all of the country's citizens are Muslims approximately 85% are Sunni and the remaining 15% are Islam is by far the dominant Religion in Uzbekistan. In the early 1990s many of the Russians remaining in the Republic (about 8% of the Islam in Vietnam is primarily the religion of the Cham people, a minority ethnic group related to Malays; however roughly one-third of the Muslims in Islam was introduced into the region by Ali ibn Abu Talib in about 630 when Prophet Muhammad was still alive This article deals with the history and the evolution of the Islamic religion in Europe. During the Ottoman occupation according to Ottoman data the majority of Albanians were of Muslim affiliation ( Sunni and Bektashi) According to the US Religious Freedom Report of 2006 there are about 2000 North Africans currently living in Andorra and they are the largest Muslim group in the country Islam in Armenia has generally been avoided throughout the centuries Islam is a Minority religion in Austria with 422 % of the population in the 2001 census See also Religion in Azerbaijan Approximately 934 to 96 percent of the population of Azerbaijan is nominally Muslim. Islam in Belarus was introduced by Lipka Tatars in the 14th -16th centuries and now also includes Muslim immigrants Islam in Belgium is relatively new and is mostly practised in the Belgian immigrant communities The modern Bosniaks, often referred to as Bosnian Muslims, descend from Slavic converts to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries that lived in the medieval Bosnian Kingdom The Muslim population of Bulgaria, including Turks, Muslim Bulgarians, Pomaks, Roma, and Crimean Islam in Croatia was introduced by the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Islam in Cyprus was introduced when Uthman the 3rd Caliph conquered Cyprus in 649. Islam in the Czech Republic History First documented visit of a person with knowledge of Islam was made (964-965 by Íbrahím Population Approximately 2-3% of the population of Denmark are Muslims Islam is the largest minority religion in Denmark In the most recent Census, performed in the year 2000 the number of people who reported themselves to be Muslims was 1387 Islam was introduced to Finland by Baltic Tatars at the end of the 19th century Statistics Estimates of the number of Muslims in France vary widely Islam in Georgia was introduced in 645 AD when an army sent by the Second Caliph of Islam Umar, conquered Eastern Georgia Owing to work migration of the 1960s and several waves of political refugees since the 1970s Islam became a visible religion in Germany. Islam in Greece is represented by a number of autochthonous and immigrant communities Islam in Hungary has a long history that dates back to at least the twelfth century predating the Ottoman Empire. The Nordic country Iceland is estimated to have between 800 and 1000 members by the Association of Muslims in Iceland The documented history of Islam in Ireland dates to the 1950s The history of Islam in Italy dates back to the 7th and 8th centuries when some of the Lombards, a Germanic people that ruled parts of northern Italy converted from Islam is the largest religion practiced in Kazakhstan. Ethnic Kazakhs are historically Sunni Muslims of the Hanafi school. The presence of Muslims in Latvia was first recorded in the early 1800s According to the US Department of State, there are 1384 Muslims living in Liechtenstein, which is about 4% of the general population In Lithuania, unlike many other northern and western European countries Islam came long ago Muslims in Luxembourg are a minority together with Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and Jews. Muslims in the Republic of Macedonia form 33% of the Republic of Macedonia's total population With Roman Catholics estimated at 95-98% of the population the Maltese Muslim community is considered to be very small According to the US Department of State, there is a small community of Muslims in Moldova, numbering a few thousand Many wealthy Arab and Iranian Muslims reside in Monaco as non-citizens Islam in Montenegro is the largest minority religion Montenegro's 110000 Muslims make up 17 History Treaty with Morocco In the early 1600s a delegation from the Dutch Republic visited Morocco to discuss a common alliance against Spain Islam is the largest minority religion in Norway with over 2% of the population The first noticeable presence of Islam in Poland began in the 14th century According to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (the National Statistical Institute of Portugal) there were according to the 1991 Census Islam in Romania is followed by only 03 percent of population but has 700 years of tradition in Northern Dobruja, a region on the Black Sea coast which was part Islam is currently the second most widely professed religion in the Russian Federation Muslims in San Marino are a minority as over 95 percent of the population is Roman Catholic The arrival of Islam in Scotland is relatively recent The bulk of Muslims in Scotland come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century The Muslims in Serbia are mostly ethnic Bosniaks and Albanians, but also members of the smaller ethnic groups like Muslims by nationality, Ashkali The number of Muslims in Slovakia according to the 2001 census is negligible (according to ?? there are 5000 Muslims in Slovakia - less than 0 The Muslims in Slovenia are ethnically Bosnians and Albanians. Islam in Spain has had a fundamental presence in the culture and history of the nation Sweden has today almost exclusively due to Immigration, a significant Muslim population According to the Confederate Census of 2001 a total number of 310807 Muslims were living in Switzerland which made up 4 The region comprising modern Turkey has a long and rich Islamic tradition stretching back to the dawn of the Seljuk period and Ottoman Empire. The majority of Muslims in Ukraine are of Crimean Tatars in ethnicity and live in the Crimean Peninsula. Islam is the second largest religion in the United Kingdom with a total of 1591000 (or 2 Islam in Argentina is represented by one of Latin America's largest Muslim minorities Statistics for Islam in Bolivia estimate a Muslim population of around a thousand representing 0 Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves. The early Brazilian Muslims led the largest slave revolt in Brazil which then had the largest slave population The statistics for Islam in Chile estimate a total Muslim population of 3196 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Colombia estimate a total Muslim population of 10000 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Ecuador estimate a total Muslim population of 275 representing 0 About 7 percent of Guyana 's population is Muslim, representing 76528 individuals Islam in Panama has a long and unique history Official data estimates 0 The latest statistics for Islam in Paraguay estimate a total Muslim population of 507 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Peru estimate a total Muslim population of 1000 representing 0 According to various sources the Muslim population of Suriname represents about 20 percent of the country's total and therefore the nation has the highest percentage of Muslims Muslims constitute 6 percent of the population on Trinidad and Tobago, representing 65318 individuals The statistics for Islam in Uruguay estimate a total Muslim population of 300 to 400 representing 0 There are approximately 100000 Muslims in Venezuela, 04 percent of the nation's population The statistics for Islam in Antigua and Barbuda estimate a total Muslim population of about 200 representing 0 Statistics for Islam in Barbados estimate a Muslim population of 500 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Belize estimate a total Muslim population of 2794 representing 1 percent of the total population According to Canada's 2001 census, there were 579640 Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population The statistics for Islam in Costa Rica is 4000 There are a number of Islamic organizations in San José including the Centro Islámico (Masjid Omar de Costa The latest statistics for Islam in Cuba claim a population of under a thousand Muslims representing 0 Statistics for Islam in Dominica are not readily available According to the International Religious Freedom Report in 2005 followers of minority religions and denominations which range Statistics for Islam in the Dominican Republic estimate that 0 There is a small Islamic community in El Salvador,they are people mostly coming from the Arab World and Turkey. There are over 200 Muslims in Grenada. They make up 030% of the population The Muslim population of Guatemala is approximately 1200 Of this population 95% are Palestinian Arab immigrants The estimated population of Haitian Muslims is about 3250 representing approximately 0 The statistics for Islam in Honduras estimate a total Muslim population of 2790 representing 0 The statistics for Islam in Jamaica estimate a total Muslim population of 5000 representing 0 While some have claimed that official data estimates that there are 318608 Muslims in Mexico, representing 0 Statistics for Islam in Nicaragua are not readily available but according to Fahmi Hassan President of the Asociación Cultural Nicaragüense-Islámica the Muslim population Islam in Panama has a long and unique history Official data estimates 0 According to the United States Department of State, Islam is a minority religion in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with some Muslims living in the island nation Muslims constitute 6 percent of the population on Trinidad and Tobago, representing 65318 individuals The history of Islam in the United States starts in the early 16th century, with Estevánico of Azamor being the first Muslim to enter the historical record Islam in Oceania refers to Islam and Muslims in Oceania. Some countries in Oceania notably Australia have Islam as their third largest Religion For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Islam is the fourth largest religious grouping in Australia after Christianity, ' No Religion ' and Buddhism. The CIA World Factbook estimates that 7% of the population of Christmas Island is Muslim The CIA World Factbook estimates that roughtly 80 percent of the 629 inhabitants on the Cocos (Keeling Islands are Sunni Muslims. Melanesia (from Greek: μέλας black, νῆσος island) means "islands of the black-skinned people" Islam is a minority religion in East Timor. The US State Department and the CIA World Factbook estimate that Muslims make up 1% of the population although some organizations The Muslims of Fiji comprise around 7% of the population (62 534 Islam in New Caledonia arrived more than a 100 years ago The first Muslims in New Caledonia were the Arabs who were brought there by the French Islam in Papua New Guinea is a minority religion the US department of state estimates that there are about 2000 muslims in the country The United States Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report states that according to the most recent reports there are approximately 350 Muslims in the Solomon Islam in Vanuatu is practised by about 200 members of the small island nation of Vanuatu in Oceania. Micronesia, from the Greek mikros (μικρός (meaning small) and nesos (νῆσος (meaning island) is a Subregion Polynesia (from Greek: πολύς many, νῆσος island) is a Subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over Islam in New Zealand has grown with inward immigration to that country Islam in Tonga consists of about 100 people in a population of about 102000 Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Although Muslims agreed on the faith's basic tenets, the country's various social groups and classes applied Islam differently in their daily lives. The literate theologians of Al-Azhar University generally rejected the version of Islam practiced by illiterate religious preachers and peasants in the countryside. Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR" الأزهر الشريف, "the Noble Azhar" in Egypt, founded in 975 is the chief centre of Most upper- and middle-class Muslims believed either that religious expression was a private matter for each individual or that Islam should play a more dominant role in public life. Islamic religious revival movements, whose appeal cut across class lines, were present in most cities and in many villages.
Today devout Muslims believe that Islam defines one's relationship to God, to other Muslims, and to non-Muslims. They also believe that there can be no dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. Many Muslims say that Egypt's governments have been secularist and even anti-religious since the early 1920s. The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada Politically organized Muslims who seek to purge the country of its secular policies are referred to as "Islamists. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only "
Orthodox ulama found themselves in a difficult position during the wave of Islamic activism that swept through Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. Radical Islamists viewed the ulama as puppets of the status quo. To maintain their influence in the country, the ulama espoused more conservative stances. After 1974, for example, many Al Azhar ulama, who had acquiesced to family planning initiatives in the 1960s, openly criticized government efforts at population control. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Al-Azhar University (pronounced "az-HAR" الأزهر الشريف, "the Noble Azhar" in Egypt, founded in 975 is the chief centre of The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The ulama also supported moves to reform the country's legal code to conform to Islamic teaching. They remained, nonetheless, comparatively moderate; they were largely loyal to the government and condemned the violence of radical Islamist groups.
Egypt's largely uneducated urban and rural lower classes were intensely devoted to Islam, but they lacked a thorough knowledge of the religion. Even village religious leaders had only a rudimentary knowledge of Islam. The typical village imam or prayer leader had at most a few years of schooling; his scholarly work was limited to reading prayers and sermons prepared by others and to learning passages from the Qur'an. The Qur’an ( القرآن, literally "the recitation" also sometimes transliterated as Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran Popular religion included a variety of unorthodox practices, such as veneration of saints, recourse to charms and amulets, and belief in the influence of evil spirits.
Popular Islam is based mostly on oral tradition. Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic حمزه بن عبدالمطلب) was the uncle of the prophet of Islam Muhammad. Imams with virtually no formal education commonly memorize the entire Qur'an and recite appropriate verses on religious occasions. They also tell religious stories at village festivals and commemorations marking an individual's rites of passage. Predestination plays an important role in popular Islam. This concept includes the belief that everything that happens in life is the will of God and the belief that trying to avoid misfortune is useless and invites worse affliction. Monotheism merges with a belief in magic and spirits (jinns) who are believed to inhabit the mountains. For the Celtic Frost album see Monotheist (album In Theology, monotheism (from Greek grc [[wiktμόνος μόνος]]
Popular Islam ranges from informal prayer sessions or Qur'an study to organized cults or orders. Because of the pervasive sexual segregation of Egypt's Islamic society, men and women often practice their religion in different ways. Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their Gender. A specifically female religious custom is the zar, a ceremony for helping women placate spirits who are believed to have possessed them. Women specially trained by their mothers or other women in zar lore organize the ceremonies. A zar organizer holds weekly meetings and employs music and dance to induce ecstatic trances in possessed women. Wealthy women sometimes pay to have private zars conducted in their homes; these zars are more elaborate than public ones, last for several days, and sometimes involve efforts to exorcise spirits.
A primarily male spiritual manifestation is Sufism, an Islamic mystical tradition. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفیگری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Sufism has existed since the early days of Islam and is found in all Islamic countries. The name derives from the Arabic word suf (wool), referring to the rough garb of the early mystics. Sufism exists in a number of forms, most of which represent an original tarika developed by an inspired founder, or shaykh. Tariqah ( ar طريقه; pl طرق; Ṭuruq or Persian: Tarighat, Turkish: Tarikat) means "way" These shaykhs gradually gathered about themselves murids, or disciples, whom they initiated into the tarika. Murid ( مريد) is a Sufi term meaning 'committed one' It refers to a person who is committed to a teacher in the spiritual path of Sufism Gradually the murids formed orders, also known as turuq, which were loyal to the shaykh or his successors. The devotions of many Sufi orders center on various forms of the dhikr, a ceremony at which music, body movements, and chants induce a state of ecstatic trance in the disciples. Dhikr ذکر Plural اذكار Adhkaar ( Zikir in Turkish and Malay, Zikr in Urdu, Jikir in Bengali and Zekr Since the early 1970s, there has been a revival of interest in Sufism. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Egypt's contemporary Sufis tend to be young, college-educated men in professional careers.
Islamic political movements
Islamic political activism has a lengthy history in Egypt. Several Islamic political groups started soon after World War I ended. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The most well-known Islamic political organization is the Muslim Brotherhood (Al Ikhwan al Muslimun, also known as the Brotherhood), founded in 1928 by Hassan al Banna. The Muslim Brothers ( Arabic: الإخوان المسلمون al-ikhwān al-muslimūn, full title The Society of the Muslim Brothers, often simply الإخوان Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hassan al-Banna ( October 14, 1906 – February 12, 1949, Arabic:حسن البنا was an Egyptian social and After World War II, the Muslim Brotherhood acquired a reputation as a radical group prepared to use violence to achieve its religious goals. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The group was implicated in several assassinations, including the murder of one prime minister. The Brotherhood had contacts with the Free Officers before the 1952 Revolution and supported most of their initial policies. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Brotherhood, however, soon came into conflict with Gamal Abdel Nasser. Gamal Abdel Nasser (جمال عبد الناصر Gamāl ‘Abd an-Nāṣir; - January 15 1918 September 28 1970) was the second President The government accused the Brotherhood of complicity in an alleged 1954 plot to assassinate the president and imprisoned many of the group's leaders. Year 1954 ( MCMLIV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1954 Gregorian calendar) In the 1970s, Anwar Sadat amnestied the leaders and permitted them to resume some of their activities. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. But by that time, the Brotherhood was divided into at least three factions. The more militant faction was committed to a policy of political opposition to the government. A second faction advocated peaceful withdrawal from society and the creation, to the extent possible, of a separate, parallel society based upon Islamic values and law. The dominant moderate group advocated cooperation with the regime.
The Muslim Brotherhood's reemergence as a political force coincided with the proliferation of Islamic groups. Some of these groups espoused the violent overthrow of the government while others espoused living a devout life of rigorous observance of religious practices. It is impossible to list all the Islamic groups that emerged in the late 1970s because many of them had diffuse structures and some of the more militant groups were underground. Egypt's defeat and loss of territory in the June 1967 Six-Day War was the main cause for the growth of religiously inspired political activism. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Background Suez Crisis aftermath The Suez Crisis of 1956 represented a military defeat but a political victory for Egypt Muslims tended to view the humiliating experience as the culmination of 150 years of foreign intrusion and an affront to their vision of a true Islamic community. Islamic tradition rejected the idea of non-Muslims dominating Muslim society. Such a state of affairs discredited Muslim rulers who permitted it to persist. It was, therefore, incumbent on believers to end the domination and restore the true supremacy of Islam. As part of their Sunni creed, the most radical activists adopted jihad and committed themselves to battling unbelievers and impious Muslims. Jihad (جهاد ʤɪhæːd an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. During the 1970s and 1980s, Islamists perpetrated a number of violent acts, including the assassination of Anwar Sadat in October 1981. Islamism ( Islam + ism; Arabic: al-'islāmiyya) a set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only Year 1981 ( MCMLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981
Disruptive social changes and Sadat's relative tolerance toward political parties contributed to the rapid growth of Islamic groups in the 1970s. On university campuses, for example, Sadat initially viewed the rise of Islamic associations (Gama'at Islamiya) as a counterbalance to leftist influence among students. For the Southeast Asian organization of the same name see Jemaah Islamiyah. The Gama'at Islamiya spread quite rapidly on campuses and won up to one-third of all student union elections. These victories provided a platform from which the associations campaigned for Islamic dress, the veiling of women, and the segregation of classes by gender. Sex segregation is the separation of people according to their Gender. Secular university administrators opposed these goals. Secularity ( adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from Religion. In 1979 Sadat sought to diminish the influence of the associations through a law that transferred most of the authority of the student unions to professors and administrators. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) During the 1980s, however, Islamists gradually penetrated college faculties. The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. At Asyut University, which was the scene of some of the most intense clashes between Islamists and their opponents (including security forces, secularists, and Copts), the president and other top administrators--who were Islamists--supported Gama'at Islamiya demands to end mixed-sex classes and to reduce total female enrollment. A Copt ( Coptic: ouRemenkīmi enEkhristianos, literally Egyptian Christian) is a native Egyptian Christian.
As of 1989, the Islamists sought to make Egypt a community of the faithful based on their vision of an Islamic social order. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) They rejected conventional, secularist social analyses of Egypt's socioeconomic problems. They maintained, for example, that the causes of poverty were not overpopulation or high defense expenditures but the populace's spiritual failures--laxness, secularism, and corruption. The solution was a return to the simplicity, hard work, and self-reliance of earlier Muslim life. The Islamists created their own alternative network of social and economic institutions through which members could work, study, and receive medical treatment in an Islamic environment.
Islamists rejected Marxism and Western capitalism. Marxism is the political philosophy and practice derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where Indeed, they viewed atheistic communism, Jewish Zionism, and Western "Crusader-minded" Christianity as their main enemies, which were responsible for the decadence that led to foreign domination and defeat by Zionists. Atheism Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ History of Zionism|Timeline of Zionism|World Zionist Organization|Zionist political violence Zionism is an international political movement that originally supported the They were intolerant of people who did not share their worldview. Islamists tended to be hostile toward the orthodox ulama, especially the scholars at Al Azhar who frequently criticized the Islamists' extreme religious interpretations. Islamists believed that the established social and political order had tainted the ulama, who had come to represent stumbling blocks to the new Islamic order. In addition, Islamists condemned the orthodox as "pulpit parrots" committed to a formalist practice of Islam but not to its spirit.
The social origins of Islamists changed after the 1952 Revolution. Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In the 1940s and early 1950s, the Muslim Brotherhood had appealed primarily to urban civil servants and white and blue-collar workers. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive After the early 1970s, the Islamic revival attracted followers from a broad spectrum of social classes. Most activists were university students or recent graduates; they included rural-urban migrants and urban middle-class youth whose fathers were middle-level government employees or professionals. Their fields of study--medicine, engineering, military science, and pharmacy--were among the most highly competitive and prestigious disciplines in the university system. The rank-and- file members of Islamist groups have come from the middle class, the lower-middle class, and the urban working class.
Various Islamist groups espoused different means for achieving their political agenda. All Islamists, however, were concerned with Islam's role in the complex and changing society of Egypt in the late twentieth century. A common focus of their political efforts has been to incorporate the Shari'a into the country's legal code. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. In deference to their increasing influence, the Ministry of Justice in 1977 published a draft law making apostasy by a Muslim a capital offense and proposing traditional Islamic punishments for crimes, such as stoning for adultery and amputation of a hand for theft. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays In 1980 Egypt supported a referendum that proposed a constitutional amendment to make the Shari'a "the sole source of law. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) " The influence of the Islamists temporarily waned in the aftermath of Sadat's assassination in 1981, but the election of nine members of the Muslim Brotherhood to the People's Assembly in 1984 revived Islamists' prospects. Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) In 1985 the People's Assembly voted to initiate a procedure for the gradual application of the Shari'a, beginning with an indefinite education period to prepare the population for the legal changes; the next step would be to amend all existing laws to exclude any provisions that conflict with the Shari'a. Moves to reform the legal code received support from many Muslims who wanted to purify society and reject Western legal codes forced on Egypt in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Status of religious freedom
The Constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religion; however, the Government places restrictions on this right. According to the Constitution, Islam is the official state religion, and Shari'a is the primary source of legislation; religious practices that conflict with the official interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited. Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. However, since the Government does not consider the practice of Christianity or Judaism to conflict with Shari'a, for the most part members of the non-Muslim minority worship without legal harassment and may maintain links with coreligionists in other countries. Members of other religions that are not recognized by the Government, such as the Bahá'í Faith, may experience personal and collective hardship. The Bahá'í Faith is a Religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind
An 1856 Ottoman decree still in force requires non-Muslims to obtain a presidential decree to build a place of worship. Year 1856 ( MDCCCLVI) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap year The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish In addition Interior Ministry regulations issued in 1934 specify a set of 10 conditions that the Government must consider prior to issuance of a presidential decree permitting construction of a church. These conditions include the location of the proposed site, the religious composition of the surrounding community, and the proximity of other churches. The Ottoman decree also requires the President to approve permits for the repair of church facilities.
In December 1999, in response to strong criticism of the Ottoman decree, President Mubarak issued a decree making the repair of all places of worship subject to a 1976 civil construction code. The decree is significant symbolically because it places churches closer to an equal footing with mosques before the law. The practical impact of the decree has been to facilitate significantly church repairs; however, Christians report that local permits still are subject to security authorities' approval. The approval process for church construction continued to be time consuming and insufficiently responsive to the wishes of the Christian community. As a result of these restrictions, some communities use private buildings and apartments for religious services.
According to a 1995 law, the application of family law, including marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody, inheritance, and burial, is based on an individual's religion. In the practice of family law, the State recognizes only the three "heavenly religions:" Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Muslim families are subject to the Personal Status Law, which draws on Shari'a (Islamic law). Sharia ( Arabic: ar شريعة) is the body of Islamic Religious law. Christian families are subject to canon law, and Jewish families are subject to Jewish law. In cases of family law disputes involving a marriage between a Christian woman and a Muslim man, the courts apply the Personal Status Law.
Under Islamic law, non-Muslim males must convert to Islam to marry Muslim women, but non-Muslim women need not convert to marry Muslim men. Muslim women are prohibited from marrying Christian men. Muslim female heirs receive half the amount of a male heir's inheritance, while Christian widows of Muslims have no inheritance rights. A sole female heir receives half her parents' estate; the balance goes to designated male relatives. A sole male heir inherits all his parents' property. Male Muslim heirs face strong social pressure to provide for all family members who require assistance; however, this assistance is not always provided. In January 2000, the Parliament passed a new Personal Status Law that made it easier for a Muslim woman to obtain a divorce without her husband's consent, provided that she is willing to forgo alimony and the return of her dowry. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. However, an earlier provision of the draft law that would have made it easier for a woman to travel without her husband's consent, was rejected.
The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt excommunicates women members who marry Muslim men, and requires that other Christians convert to Coptic Orthodoxy in order to marry a member of the church. History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the The Coptic Orthodox Church does not permit divorce.
See also
References
- This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain. Listing of Muslims by country Important note Population counts by religious affiliation like most demographic characteristics of a Population Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law The Coptic Christian population in Egypt is the largest Christian community in the Middle East. The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress ( USA) freely available for use by researchers The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone
- US State Department [1]