Ariel Azoff on the Effects of Religion on Society in Egypt

By: Ariel Azoff

April 14, 2008

In my first letter I wrote about Islam and how it permeates every aspect of life in Egypt. This time I want to focus on two areas, but of course I will throw in some random observations as well.

Religion puts strains on gender relations in Egypt like nowhere else I’ve ever been. Since men and women aren't allowed much contact (other than with family members) until marriage, men tend to objectify women. Seldom do men and women, especially in the lower classes, develop the platonic friendships that we in the West view as commonplace. Street harassment is, however, quite commonplace. I spoke to a Muslim friend about this problem. "I’ve had it with the men in this country!” she fumed. "The Qur’an says for women to dress modestly, yes, but it also says for men to avert their eyes. Men here don’t avert their eyes: they stare at you and whistle at you and sometimes even try to touch you.” I’ve experienced problems with the social stigmas even regarding daily interactions. From what I’ve seen, women don’t really talk to men they meet, don’t make acquaintances outside of the workplace, and certainly don’t strike up a conversation with a cab driver who they are alone with.

Being a student of Arabic, I like talking to Egyptians because they speak it. Unfortunately, probably almost half the men I talk to in various situations (including taxis) end up asking me for my phone number. The religious gender segregation has made it so that a woman chatting with a man has connotations far beyond what it would have in the United States.

My second point about Egypt: God is in the language of the country, though it may be more correct to say in the language of Arabic. “God bless you” for sneezing translates the same way, though it is a reversal of the same two words that you say when someone has died, which presents many problems for foreigners like myself. The answer to every question is “God willing” which—aside from being a convenient way to be noncommittal—is really how Egyptians seem to view things, as being in the hands of God.

Maybe I’m being unfair. It’s easy, as an outsider, to stereotype Egyptians as somewhat lazy and very laid back, almost to the point of apathy. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the recent (attempted) strikes that happened in Cairo because of public anger about rising bread prices and the cost of living in general going up. I was able to see some of the emails that were circulating urging people not to go to work and not to buy anything. “If you leave everything in the hands of God,” the organizers wrote, “and say ‘God will take care of it’ then nothing will happen. If you sit back and watch nothing will change.” Such a strong, almost heretical, statement seems out of character for a population whose two favorite phrases are "God willing" and "Praise be to God."

But I think I’ve learned not to underestimate these people. Aside from being very pious, they are a people who can use their faith as a motivational force for change. Unfortunately for the strikers, the government forces didn’t share their views. This really is an extremely pious nation, and not just of Muslims. I teach an English class to Egyptians about my age and most of them are Coptic. For one of our lessons we asked them to list their top five priorities in life, and every single student listed “church,” “prayer,” or “God” as one of them. Half the time I am stunned by the piety of the people, and the other half by the apparent hypocrisy of a culture that embraces Western music and films that represent values opposite to their own. I saw a galabiya (Egyptian dress for a man or woman) in the market the other day with “SEXY” written in silver lettering across the back. Talk about cultural diffusion. Egypt continues to surprise me, and I don’t think living here for three months allows me to come anywhere near understanding the culture fully, though it is a fascinating thing to attempt.

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