Islamization of Egypt

Ancient Egypt Greco-Roman Egypt Medieval Egypt Early modern Egypt Late Modern Egypt Egypt portal v t e The Islamization of Egypt occurred as a result of the Islamic conquest of Egypt by the Arabs led by Amr ibn al-Aas the military governor of Palestine . The indigenous Coptic population of Egypt underwent a large scale gradual conversion from Christianity to Islam ; a process that was never complete and continues to this day. This process of Islamization was accompanied by a simultaneous wave of Arabization . These factors resulted in Muslims becoming a majority in Egypt by the mid-10th century, the Egyptians acculturation into Arab identity and the replacement of their native Coptic and Greek languages with Egyptian Arabic as their sole vernacular.

Ancient Egypt Greco-Roman Egypt Medieval Egypt Early modern Egypt Late Modern Egypt Egypt portal v t e The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in modern-day Cairo The Islamization of Egypt occurred as a result of the Muslim conquest of Roman Egypt by the Arabs led by the prominent Muslim general Amr ibn al-Aas , the military governor of the Holy Land . The masses of locals in Egypt and the Middle East underwent a large scale gradual conversion from Christianity to Islam , accompanied by heavy taxes for those who refused to convert. This is attested to by John of Nikiû , a coptic bishop who wrote about the conquest, and who was a near contemporary of the events he described. The process of Islamization was accompanied by a simultaneous wave of Arabization . These factors resulted in Islam becoming the dominant faith in Egypt between 10th and 12th century, Egyptians acculturating into an Islamic identity and then replacing Coptic and Greek , which were spoken as a result of the Greek and Roman occupation of Egypt, languages with Arabic as their sole vernacular which became the language of the nation by law. The Hanging Church in Old Cairo Islamic links to Coptic Egypt predates its conquest by the Arabs. According to Muslim tradition, Mohammed married a Copt; Maria al-Qibtiyya . In 641 AD, Egypt was invaded by the Arabs who faced off with the Byzantine army. Local resistance by the Egyptians began to materialize shortly thereafter and would last until at least the ninth century. The Arabs imposed a special tax, known as jizya , for those who refused to convert to Islam , the Christians who acquired the protected status of dhimmis , the taxation was justified on protection grounds since local Christians who kept their religion were never drafted to serve in an army. Arab rulers generally preferred not to share the rule with Coptic Christians in their towns and established new colonies, like Fustat . Heavy taxation at times of state hardships was a reason behind Coptic Christians organizing resistance against the new rulers. This resistance mounted to armed rebellions against the Arabs in a number of instances, such as during the Bashmurian revolt in the Delta . The Arabs in the 7th century seldom used the term Egyptian , and used instead the term qbt, which was adopted into English as Copt , to describe the locals of Egypt they kept using the term up until the Mamluk rule. Thus, Egyptians became known as Al Qibt , and the non-Chalcedonian Egyptian Church became known as the Coptic Church . The Chalcedonian Church remained known as the Melkite Church . In Coptic, which is written using a Greek alphabet, Coptic Egyptians referred to themselves as ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ (/ni-rem-en-kēmi/ "Egyptians"). Religious life remained largely undisturbed following the establishment of Arab rule, as evidence by the rich output of Coptic Orthodox Christian arts in monastic centers in Old Cairo ( Fustat ) and throughout Egypt. Conditions, however, worsened shortly after that, and in the eighth and ninth centuries when Muslim rulers banned the use of human forms in art (taking advantage of an iconoclastic conflict in the European ruled Byzantium ) and consequently destroyed many Coptic christian paintings mainly of Jesus and frescoes in churches. The Fatimid period in Egypt was a time of relative tolerance. The Fatimid rulers employed Copts in the government and participated in Coptic and local Egyptian feasts. Major renovation and reconstruction of churches and monasteries were also undertaken. Coptic arts flourished, reaching new heights in Middle and Upper Egypt.

Spread of Islam after the Arab conquests Ancient Egypt Greco-Roman Egypt Medieval Egypt Early modern Egypt Late Modern Egypt Egypt portal v t e The Islamization of Egypt occurred after the 7th century Arab conquest of Egypt , in which the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate seized control of Egypt from the Christian Byzantine Empire . Egypt and other conquered territories in the Middle East underwent a large scale gradual conversion from Christianity to Islam , accompanied by jizya for those who refused to convert. Islam became the dominant faith by the 10th to 12th centuries, and Arabic replaced Coptic as the vernacular language and Greek as the official language.

Spread of Islam after the Arab conquests Ancient Egypt Greco-Roman Egypt Medieval Egypt Early modern Egypt Late Modern Egypt Egypt portal v t e The Islamization of Egypt occurred after the seventh-century Muslim conquest , in which the Islamic Rashidun Caliphate seized control of Egypt from the Christian dominated Byzantine Empire . Egypt and other conquered territories in Africa gradually underwent a large-scale conversion from Christianity to Islam , motivated in part by a jizya tax for those who refused to convert. Islam became the faith of the majority of the population at some point between the 10th and 12th centuries, and Arabic became the main language, replacing Coptic and Greek , which had previously served as the vernacular and governmental languages, respectively.