Islam in Egypt

Al-Azhar Islamic university in Cairo Egypt , connected to a mosque built around 971, is considered by many Sunni Muslims as the world's highest Sunni Muslim authority. The republic of Egypt has recognized Islam as the state religion since 1980. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, with Muslims comprising about 90% of a population of around 80 million Egyptians Almost the entirety of Egypt's Muslims are Sunnis . Most of the non-Muslims in Egypt are Christians , though estimates vary (see Religion in Egypt ). 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. 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. 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 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. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , the government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and religious schools. The government mandated reform of Al-Azhar University beginning in 1961. These reforms permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally trained orthodox ulama. "Egypt from "The World Factbook" " . American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . 4 September 2008. Department of State/Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs" " . "Egypt from "Foreign and Commonwealth Office" " . "Egypt Religions & Peoples from "LOOKLEX Encyclopedia" " . "Egypt from "msn encarta" " .

Al-Azhar Islamic university in Cairo Egypt , connected to a mosque built around 971, is considered by many Sunni Muslims as the world's highest Sunni Muslim authority. Islam in Egypt is the dominant religion in country with around 80 million Muslims , comprising 94.7% of the population, as of 2010. Almost the entirety of Egypt's Muslims are Sunnis , with a small minority of Shia and Ahmadi Muslims. The latter, however, are not recognized by Egypt. Islam has been recognized as the state religion since 1980. Prior to Napoleon 's invasion in 1798, almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Ottoman rule reinforced the public and political roles of the ulama (religious scholars), as Mamluk rule had done before the Ottomans, because Islam was the state religion and because political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. During the 19th and 20th 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. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , the government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and religious schools. The government mandated reform of Al-Azhar University beginning in 1961. These reforms permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally trained orthodox ulama. "Egypt from "The World Factbook" " . American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . 4 September 2008. An Independent Voice for Egypt’s al-Azhar? See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire"

Al-Azhar Islamic university in Cairo Egypt , connected to a mosque built around 971, is considered by some Sunni Muslims as one of the world's highest Sunni Muslim authorities. Islam is the dominant religion in Egypt with around an estimated 90% of the population. Almost the entirety of Egypt's Muslims are Sunnis , with a small minority of Shia and Ahmadi Muslims. The latter, however, are not recognized by Egypt. Islam has been recognized as the state religion since 1980. Since there has been no religious census, the actual percentage of Muslims is not known: the percentage of Christians are estimated to be between 10 and 15%. Prior to Napoleon 's invasion in 1798, almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Ottoman rule reinforced the public and political roles of the ulama (religious scholars), as Mamluk rule had done before the Ottomans, because Islam was the state religion and because political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. During the 19th and 20th 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. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , the government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and religious schools. The government mandated the reform of Al-Azhar University beginning in 1961. These reforms permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally trained orthodox ulama. "Egypt from "The World Factbook" " . American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . 4 September 2008. An Independent Voice for Egypt’s al-Azhar? See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire" There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Largest religion in Egypt Al-Azhar Islamic university in Cairo Egypt , connected to a mosque built around 971, is considered by some Sunni Muslims as one of the world's highest Sunni Muslim authorities. Islam is the dominant religion in Egypt , with approximately 90.3% of Egyptians identifying as Muslims . The majority of Egyptian Muslims are adherents of Sunni Islam , while a small minority adhere to Shia Islam . Since 1980, Islam has served as Egypt's state religion . Due to the lack of a religious census, owing to the alleged undercounting of non-Muslim minorities in Egyptian censuses, the actual percentage of Muslims is unknown; the percentage of Egyptian Christians , who are the second-largest religious group in the country, is estimated to be between 5% and 15% of the population. Prior to the French campaign in Egypt and Syria under Napoleon Bonaparte , almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Under the Ottoman Empire , the public and political roles of the ulama (i.e., Muslim religious scholars) were reinforced, in an effective continuation of the policies of the Mamluk Sultanate . Traditionally, political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. During the 19th and 20th centuries, successive governments made extensive efforts to limit the role of the ulama in public life, and religious institutions were increasingly brought under closer levels of state control. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , the new government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and Islamic schools . Likewise, it mandated the reform of Al-Azhar University , beginning in 1961. These policies permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally-trained orthodox ulama . "Egypt from "The World Factbook" " . American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . 4 September 2008. An Independent Voice for Egypt’s al-Azhar? See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire" There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Al-Azhar Islamic university in Cairo Egypt , connected to a mosque built around 971, is considered by some Sunni Muslims as one of the world's highest Sunni Muslim authorities. Islam is the dominant religion in Egypt , with approximately 94.9% of Egyptians identifying as Muslims . The majority of Egyptian Muslims are adherents of Sunni Islam , while a small minority adhere to Shia Islam . Since 1980, Islam has served as Egypt's state religion . Due to the lack of a religious census, owing to the alleged undercounting of non-Muslim minorities in Egyptian censuses, the actual percentage of Muslims is unknown; the percentage of Egyptian Christians , who are the second-largest religious group in the country, is estimated to be 5.1% of the population. A study at the University of Kent , citing a 2018 survey by Arab Barometer , stated that around 11% of Egyptians identified themselves as not religious. While in the same 2018 Wave survey, 47.2% of Egyptians said they were religious, 39.8% said they were somewhat religious and 10.4% said they were not religious. In the same Arab Barometer 2018 Wave V survey, it was reported that 90.4% said they were Muslim, 9.6% said they were Christian, and 0.1% said they had no religion. Prior to the French campaign in Egypt and Syria under Napoleon Bonaparte , almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Under the Ottoman Empire , the public and political roles of the ulama (i.e., Muslim religious scholars) were reinforced, in an effective continuation of the policies of the Mamluk Sultanate . Traditionally, political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. During the 19th and 20th centuries, successive governments made extensive efforts to limit the role of the ulama in public life, and religious institutions were increasingly brought under closer levels of state control. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 , the new government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and Islamic schools . Likewise, it mandated the reform of Al-Azhar University , beginning in 1961. These policies permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally-trained orthodox ulama . "Egypt from "The World Factbook" " . American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) . 4 September 2008. An Independent Voice for Egypt's al-Azhar? See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire" "Al-Azhar University" . There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).