The Role of Religion in Modern Day Egypt

The majority of religions found in modern-day Egypt include

Christianity and Muslim practices. It is said that Egypts Christian roots
date back to the start of Christianity itself. In early, first century AD,
Christianity was brought to Egypt by the Apostle Saint Mark. (A
History of Christianity in Egypt). Saint Mark arrived in Alexandria to
preach Christianity. He first follower was a shoemaker named Anianus.
Anianus became Patriarch of Alexandria, and since this ancient era, the
religion of Christianity has remained unbroken. With that being said,
the Egyptian Christian church is one of the oldest Christian churches
around. (A History of Christianity in Egypt). Since Christianity shared
so many similarities with the early Egyptian beliefs, the transition from
old Egyptian ways to the newfound religion of Christianity was simple
for the people of this time.
In addition to the immense amount of Christians found in
present-day Egypt, a large portion of the population is of the Muslim
religion. About five centuries after the introduction of the Christian
religion to Egypt, Arab Muslims brought the Islamic religion to the
region. The conversion process to this new belief was not
overwhelming, however. Although conversion to Islam throughout the
history of Egypt was slow and coming, a steady trickle of Copts
(Egyptian-Christians) converting to Islam was inevitable. (Wasserman,
1992). This slow process appeared to happen in stages, but despite the
slow process of Islamic conversion, the popularity of the religion has
grown to make up at least 86% of the Egyptian population today.
(Culture and Social Development).

Figure 1. Map showing the percentage of Muslims residing in

countries of the Middle East. (Culture and Social Development).

Figure 2. Map showing a closer look at the distribution of religions

in the country of Egypt. (Culture and Social Development).

Since both of these religions have been introduced and practiced

in Egypt for many years, they have had quite the impact on the
modern day society. In modern day Egypt, religions are described as
having conservative attitudes when it comes to their practices,
however, one growing concern for the country is the blend of religion
and politics that is occurring. With both Christianity and Muslim beliefs
being so significant to the people, their theologies are impacting
politics in Egypt. Religion of the people has had such a great impact on
how they are participating in the political system that according to
Hellyer (2013), it has been suggested that amendments to the
Egyptian constitution be made. One of these amendments includes
constitutionally banning political parties with a religious reference.
(Hellyer, 2013). Although this seems simple to do, it would actually be
quite difficult to implement this revision. With that being said, it is
advised that the dedicated religious believers keep their faiths
independent from political participation.
With regards to the impact religion is having on the modern
Egyptian political system, it is easy to see why there has been tension.
Cultural norms for both Muslim and Christian people are extremely
important, and this is no secret in the society. For instance, because of
the high percentage of Muslim people in the country, there are
mosques, or places where people of the Muslim faith worship scattered
throughout the capital city of Cairo. The immense amount of mosques
found throughout is due to the fact that Muslims believe in praying at
least five times per day. One of the key times for prayer is at noon
each Friday. During this time, businesses and schools respect the
religious practice and shut down for the day. (Religion and Faith in
Modern Cairo). In addition to Muslim practices being respected
throughout the country, significant holidays to the Christians are
observed as well. Although Christians do not have as many specific
prayer times as the Muslims do, they still have days that occur on their
religious calendar that are sacred to them; one of these holidays being
Easter. The Easter holiday involves fasting by the people of the
Christian faith. Fasting is also practiced in August and before Christmas
in December. Thus, although both denominations differ in their
practices and ways, the country of Egypt consistently respects each
faiths significant worship time.
As well as holidays and prayer time being important to the
people of each religion, both Christians and Muslims have sacred
places that hold great significance to their beliefs. Cities of religious
importance to the Muslim people include the cities of Mecca and
Medina, both of which are located in Saudi Arabia, which is located just
across the Red Sea. Mecca and Medina both hold significant value to

the people of the Muslim faith because these cities were meaningful to
the founder of the religion, Muhammad. The most sacred place to the
Muslims is said to be the Kaba in Mecca. Kaba is a mosque that was
declared by Muhammad as being a place where all Muslims should
pray in the holy city. (Islamic Places: The Muslim World).

Figure 3. Photo of the Kaba Mosque in Mecca, Israel.

Although most of Christian worship is done at home or in small,
community churches, there are some significant cities that people of
this faith hold dear to their religion. These cities include: Jerusalem,
Bethlehem and Nazareth. All three locations were places where the
leader of the Christian faith, Jesus, resided in. Bethlehem was the
birthplace of Jesus and is also home to the oldest church in the world,
The Church of Nativity. Nazareth, located in northern Israel was where
Jesus spent his childhood, and lastly, the city of Jerusalem (possibly the
most compelling of the three), is where Jesus spent a majority of his
life preaching about the Christian faith. (Christianity in the Holy
Land). These three meaningful cities are all located just outside of
Egypt in the neighboring country of Israel.

Figure 4. The Church of Nativity located in Bethlehem, Israel: the

birthplace of Jesus. (Bethlehem).
As previously stated, religion and politics are mixed in presentday Egypt. This has been a hardship for the country because the robust
beliefs of the people of the country are affecting the way voting and
other political matters are being handled. With that being said, actions
are being taken to try to fix the matter, and keep religious views
separate from politics. However, the country has yet to find a solution
to this issue. Being that religion is so sacred to the Egyptian people, it
will be challenging for the government to find a way to regulate this
concern to achieve the segregation they are searching for.
In conclusion, although the country of Egypt currently faces
issues with keeping religion and government affairs separate, this
diverse country respects the sacred practices of both the Muslim and
Christian religions, which occupy a large percentage of the population
total. As a result of the respect both faiths receive, Christians and
Muslims are able to live in harmony in the country of Egypt. This
peaceful relationship is one that is scarce, and not often found in other
countries. Egypt is one of the few places able to have two dominant
religions live together in tranquility: this is just one factor that makes
the country of Egypt unique.

Figure 5. Two men (a Muslim and a Coptic Christian) hold up

symbols of their religions together in Egypt. (Saleh, 2011).

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