The future of Islam in Egypt

With the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi elected president of Egypt, many people are asking what this says about how average Egyptians see the role of religion in public life. The United States especially is watching Egypt with interest right now because of the historically strong relationship between the two countries.

But to understand religion’s role in Egypt, it is crucial to understand that Egypt contains powerful non-partisan religious voices that preclude religious scholars siding with Islamic parties, as occurred in Iran. No doubt, Egypt is still a profoundly religious culture and it is generally socially unacceptable to oppose religion. If Jeffersonian-style democracy – the notion that believers should leave religion at home when publically discussing political questions – is impossible in the Egyptian context, the question is not whether or not religion will manifest itself in the public square, but how.

For Muslim Egyptians, the majority of the population, there are three forces that influence how religion is seen in public life: the Muslim Brotherhood, which supports a civil state but has a highly politicised understanding of Islam; Salafi political parties, such as the Al Nour or Al Asala parties, which emphasise a vision of Islam based on Wahhabi ideology, which is not indigenous to Egypt, and call for the application of Saudi-style laws; and Al-Azhar University, the most prestigious Islamic university in the Arab region and the oldest still-functioning university in the world (founded in 971 in Cairo). Al-Azhar focuses on Islam’s relationship to contemporary political and social issues, but through a different lens, drawing on Islamic intellectual heritage.
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