Egypt
The intersection of religion and politics in Egypt has been characterized by both gradual change and revolutionary rupture. Islam arrived in the 7th century CE, and Egypt emerged as a center of politics and culture in the Muslim world. British control during the late 19th and early 20th centuries allowed local and European intellectual traditions to mingle, contributing to the establishment of a nationalist, secular regime in the 1952 Revolution. Though Islam became the official state religion in 1971, Egyptian presidents largely continued to rule as they saw fit. In 2011, a popular revolution involving secular and religious actors ended 30 years of rule by Hosni Mubarak (1981-2011). The Muslim Brotherhood, which had previously been banned as a political party, won a majority of seats in the post-Revolution parliamentary elections, and the group’s political leader, Mohamed Morsi, was elected president. The Constitution grants freedom of religion, but authorities often restrict it in practice. Among those most directly affected are Coptic Christians, approximately 10% of the population.
ESSAYS ON EGYPT
Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire
Religion, particularly Islam, has traditionally been a powerful force in Egyptian politics, society, and culture. Prior to the Islamic conquest, Saint Mark the Evangelist brought Christianity to Egypt in the first century CE, and Alexandria became one of the most important Christian centers in the world. It split from the larger Christian Church at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, establishing itself as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, which remains an important force in Egyptian religious culture to the present. In 639, Islam and the Arabic language were introduced to Egypt by Muslim Arabs. Throughout the subsequent centuries, Sunni Islam blended with indigenous beliefs and practices, giving birth to the various Sufi orders that can still be found to this day. The Shi’a Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) conquered Egypt in the late tenth century and founded the city of Cairo, which developed into one of the most important political and intellectual centers of the Muslim world. The founding of the Ayyubid Dynasty by Saladin in 1174 signaled a shift from Shi’a to Sunni political predominance and propelled Muslim forces to turn the tide against Christian crusaders in the Holy Land. The Mamluks, a Turco-Circassian military caste, came to power in 1250, and continued to rule even after Ottoman Turks conquered Egypt in 1517. Both the Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire emphasized state control over the ulema (religious clerics). While legally protected under the Millet system of the Ottoman Empire, minority religious communities were also discriminated against.
Colonialism and the Rise of Egyptian Nationalism
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, French and British colonialism had profound effects on Egyptian society. Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 exposed native Egyptians to the principles of the French Revolution and encouraged modernization and secularization. In 1882, Britain seized control of the Egyptian government, which had fallen heavily in debt to European powers. Egypt gained partial independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, and finally achieved full independence following the end of World War II. The semi-independent state that emerged in Egypt in 1922 was committed to liberal constitutionalism and secular rule. In 1928, Hassan al-Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood as a mainstream Sunni Islamic reformist movement. Egypt’s unstable condition in the aftermath of World War II served as a catalyst for the Brotherhood’s development into a religio-political organization advocating conservative Islamic values and resorting to violence. The latter half of the twentieth century was marked by the rapid growth of Egyptian nationalism and Egypt’s attempts to reassert itself as both a regional leader and a world power. The overthrow of the monarchy in 1952 by army officers led to single-party rule, modernization, and Arab socialism, though the state remained officially secular. The Arab Republic of Egypt was declared in 1953, and, in 1956, Gamal Abdel Nasser became the second president of the Republic. Nasser began a violent conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood that culminated in harsh state repression and the hanging of one of the organization’s leaders, Sayyid Qutb, in 1966.
Rise of Islamic Activism
Religious fervor increased when many Egyptians blamed Egypt’s defeat against Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967 on the country’s lack of faith. This sentiment, coupled with a relaxation of censorship, led to a resurgence of public worship, displays of devotion, and religious publications. In 1970, Nasser was succeeded by Anwar Sadat, who violently repressed secular and religious opposition while also establishing Islam as Egypt’s constitutionally official religion. Under Sadat, Egypt became the first Arab country to recognize Israel’s sovereignty. Radical Islamist groups, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Group, are thought to have been behind the assassination of Sadat in 1981. In the 1990s, the Egyptian government diminished the power of Islamist groups, securing the Islamic Group’s renunciation of violence. Recently, religio-political activism has intensified, particularly in urban centers. Though illegal, membership in the Muslim Brotherhood has increased dramatically, and, in 2005, Brotherhood-affiliated independents won 88 of 454 seats in the People’s Assembly. The growing influence of these religio-political organizations has sparked debates over the secular or religious nature of the Egyptian state and the legitimacy of religious political parties. In response to the electoral strength of the Brotherhood, the government strengthened enforcement of laws banning political parties based on religion, and manipulated the electoral process for the Shura Council, the upper house of Parliament, to ensure that the Brotherhood would not attain any seats in the 2007 Shura Council Elections. Another ongoing issue is the treatment of Coptic Christians, around 10 percent of the population, who face legal, occupational, and police discrimination on the grounds of religion.
Contemporary Affairs
Egypt’s 2011 revolution brought a dramatic end to Hosni Mubarak’s rule (1981-2011), and its consequences for the relationship between religion and politics remain difficult to predict. The massive popular revolt was inspired largely by young activists with few known links to prominent religious associations. The Muslim Brotherhood, while actively supporting the movement, emphasized that it did not command the uprising. However, the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist groups won a large majority of parliamentary seats in legislative elections, prompting women and minority groups to complain about a lack of parliamentary presence. A 2011 referendum called for the creation of a representative assembly to draft a new constitution. However the creation of this assembly has proven contentious and critics have accused the Islamist-led legislature of attempting to dominate the process. Representatives of the Coptic Church and al-Azhar Mosque boycotted the assembly in early 2012, and in April 2012 an Egyptian court suspended the assembly, raising doubts about the fate of Egypt’s new constitution. Despite hopes that interreligious cooperation during the revolution would improve relations between Copts and Muslims, deadly sectarian violence erupted in early 2011. In October 2011 government forces clashed with protesting Copts, killing 27 people. March 2012 saw the death of the Coptic Church’s leader, Pope Shenouda III, raising further concerns among Copts anxious about their place in Egypt’s transitioning society. In June 2012, Egypt elected Mohamed Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, to the presidency.
Religious Freedom in Egypt
Freedom of belief and worship are formally recognized by the Egyptian Constitution, but are effectively limited by government intervention and sectarian conflict. Concerns about religious freedom grew after the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists won a majority of seats in recent parliamentary elections. Meanwhile, attacks against Christians and other religious minorities have increased after Mubarak’s overthrow. In 2011, several churches were burned and, that October, government troops killed 27 Coptic Christians in violent clashes. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom consequently named Egypt a “country of particular concern” in both 2011 and 2012. Some aspects of Egypt’s laws are heavily biased in favor of Islam and against religious minorities, most notably the country’s 10 million Copts. Islam is the state religion and, since the 1980 constitutional amendments, sharia is officially recognized as the primary source of legislation. Other religions must petition for legal recognition within this framework. Although the state provides funds for the construction of mosques and the training of imams, no such aid is extended to non-Muslim communities, whose requests for building permits are often denied or delayed. Government officials also frequently deny identity cards, birth certificates and marriage licenses to individual adherents of minority religions. The government also discriminates against Islamic minority groups, most notably Shi’a Muslims. Shi’as face official discrimination, including being barred from admission to al-Azhar University, which is among the most prestigious centers for higher learning in the Middle East.
Religion in the Egyptian Constitution
The former Egyptian Constitution of 1971 contains important ambiguities regarding the relationship between religion and state. Articles in Section 2: Social and Moral Constituents, note the role of the state in safeguarding the family and morality and promoting religious education, and Sharia's role in shaping women's rights and duties. However, articles in Section 3: Public Freedoms, Rights, and Duties, guarantee non-discrimination and freedom of belief and worship for all citizens. The document has been substantially modified on several occasions. In terms of religious content, the most notable reform took place in 1980, when Islam was made the official religion and Sharia the principal source of legislation. However, more than one year after the Arab Spring ended Hosni Mubarak’s thirty year regime, Egypt remains without an accepted constitution. Pursuant to a March 2011 constitutional declaration, parliament was charged with creating a 100-member committee to draft the nation’s new constitution. The first Constituent Assembly was disbanded by the Supreme Constitutional Court in April 2012 due to its “failure to represent the full spectrum of Egyptian society.” A second Constituent Assembly, which is more representative of women, Coptic Christians, and liberals, was created in June 2012. Leaders have called for the dissolution of this new Assembly due to accusations of a biased judge and outrage over a courtroom brawl, but an administrative court has given the Assembly until September 24, 2012 to submit a constitution. The key issues over which many Assembly members disagree are the role of Islam in the state, the position of minority religions, and the type of government that will run the state; compounding these questions is a divide between liberal and Islamist members. Members of the Constituent Assembly have started meeting daily to draft a constitution whose articles will have to not prompt a veto from either newly-elected President Morsi, the prime minister, the head of a court, the chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or a fifth of the Assembly. Thus, the ultimate success of the Arab Spring remains to be seen.
Article 2: Islam as State Religion and Source of Law
Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic its official language. Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation.
Article 9: Family and Religion
The family is the basis of the society founded on religion, morality and patriotism. The State is keen to preserve the genuine character of the Egyptian family- with all values and traditions represented by it- while affirming and promoting this character in the interplay of relations within the Egyptian society.
Article 11: Women and Islam
The State shall guarantee the proper coordination between the duties of woman towards the family and her work in the society, considering her equal with man in the fields of political, social, cultural and economic life without violation of the rules of Islamic jurisprudence.
Article 12: Religion as a Guiding Principle
The society shall be committed to safeguarding and protecting morals, promoting the genuine Egyptian traditions and abiding by the high standards of religious education, moral and national values, historical heritage of the people, scientific facts, socialist conduct and public morality within the limits of the law. The State is committed to abiding by these principles and promoting them.
Article 19: Religious Education
Religious education shall be a principal subject in the courses of general education.
Article 40: Non-discrimination
All citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination between them due to race, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed.
Article 46: Freedom of Belief and Worship
The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practice of religious rites.
Article 90: Oath of Office
The member of the People's Assembly shall take the following oath before the Assembly before entering upon his duties:
"I swear by God Almighty, that I shall preserve the safety of the nation and the Republican regime, shall attend to the interests of the people and shall respect the Constitution and law".
