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Religion
Cairo's unique cityscape with its ancient mosques.
Cairo is known as
the "city of a thousand minarets"
Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country with Islam as its state
religion. Around 90% are identified as Muslim. Almost the entire
populations of Muslims are Sunni. A significant number of Muslim
Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders, and there is a minority of Shi'a.
Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives; The Adhan
(Islamic call to prayer) that is heard five times a day has the
informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business
to media and entertainment.
Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque
minarets and is justifiably dubbed "the city of 1,000 minarets",
with a significant number of church towers. This religious landscape
has been marred by a history of religious extremism, recently
witnessing a 2006 judgment of
Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court,
which made a clear legal distinction between "recognized religions"
(i.e., Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and all other religious
beliefs. This ruling effectively delegitimizes and forbids practice
of all but the three Abrahamic religions.
This judgment had made it necessary for non-Abrahamic religious
communities to either commit perjury or be denied Egyptian
identification cards (see Egyptian identification card controversy),
until a 2008
Cairo court case ruled that unrecognized religious
minorities may obtain birth certificates and identification
documents, so long as they omit their religion on court documents.
Christian minority
There is a large minority of Christians in
Egypt, who make up around
10% of the population. Over 90% of Egyptian Christians belong to the
native Coptic Orthodox Church of
Alexandria. Other native Egyptian
Christians are adherents of the Coptic Catholic Church, the
Evangelical Church of
Egypt and various other Protestant
denominations. Non-native Christian communities are largely found in
the urban regions of
Cairo and
Alexandria.
According to the constitution of
Egypt, any new legislation must at
least implicitly agree with Islamic law; however, the constitution
bans political parties with a religious agenda.
Egypt hosts two
major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University, founded in 970
A.D by the Fatimids as the first Islamic University in
Egypt and the
main Egyptian Church the Coptic Orthodox Church of
Alexandria
established in the middle of the 1st century by Saint Mark.
In 2002, under the Mubarak Government, Coptic Christmas (January the
7th) was recognized as an official holiday, though Copts report
being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and
public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce
on the basis of their religion. The Coptic community, as well as
several human rights activists and intellectuals, maintain that the
number of Christians occupying Government posts is not proportional
to the number of Copts in
Egypt.
Shia minority
The Shia minority of
Egypt, like the Coptic Christians and other
religious minorities are subject of open and official
discrimination, although the Egyptian laws are presumably protective
of these. For example, even today, the Shia students are not
admitted into the al-Azhar University in
Cairo. All the attempts by
the enlightened rector of the university, Grand Mufti al-Tantawi in
2006-2009 did not succeed in convincing the faculty and the state to
remove this ban. Ironically, the Al-Azhar University was founded by
the Ismaili Shia dynasty of the Fatimids in AD 970, as a Shia
university!
The Shias in
Egypt consist of the two primary branches of Shiism.
The Ismailis are found largely in the Upper
Egypt, from
Aswan into
the Sudanese Nubia. The last Aga Khan-the Imam of the Ismailis to
die (1957) , was buried in
Aswan among the Ismaili Shia community
there, overlooking the Nile. The Imami Shias are found largely in
the Lower
Egypt. There is no possibility to even guest mate the
number of Shias in
Egypt, given the degree of open and official
hostility and discrimination practiced at nearly all levels of
social and political life in the country, making the Shia too
apprehensive to reveal their identity. The Egyptian sources admit to
only "a few thousand" Shias for the entire country of nearly 80
million people. The absurdity of this becomes self-evident. In a
country where even its current capital city of
Cairo was founded by
the Ismaili Shia Fatimids in AD 968, it is sad to find the Shia
masses so huddled and discriminated against. This is evident even in
the minds of the Egyptian "intellectuals" who contribute to local
and foreign media and academia. As recently as 2007, Egyptian
president, Husni Mubarak openly warned the "Sunni world" of the
menace of the "rising power of the Shias Not very comforting words
for the apprehensive Shia community of that country.
Other religious minorities
There is also a small, but nonetheless historically significant,
non-immigrant Bahá'í population of around 2000, who have
intrinsically been banned from practicing Baha'i. There's an even
smaller community of Jews of about 200 then a tiny number of
Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic.
Culture
Bibliotheca
Alexandrina is a commemoration of the ancient Library of
Alexandria in
Egypt's second largest city.
Egyptian culture has six thousand years of recorded history. Ancient
Egypt was among the earliest civilizations and for millennia,
Egypt
maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced
later cultures of Europe, the Middle East and other African
countries. After the Pharaonic era,
Egypt itself came under the
influence of Hellenism, Christianity, and Islamic culture. Today,
many aspects of
Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with
newer elements, including the influence of modern Western culture,
itself with roots in ancient
Egypt.
Egypt's capital city,
Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been
renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and
commerce.
Egypt has the highest number of Nobel Laureates in Africa
and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are at
the helm of major international organizations like Boutros
Boutros-Ghali of the United Nations and Mohamed ElBaradei of the
IAEA.
Egypt is a recognized cultural trend-setter of the Arabic-speaking
world, and contemporary Arab culture is heavily influenced by
Egyptian literature, music, film and television.
Egypt gained a
regional leadership role during the 1950s and 1960s, which gave a
further enduring boost to the standing of Egyptian culture in the
Arab world
Art and architecture
The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify
design elements in art and architecture. The wall paintings done in
the service of the Pharaohs followed a rigid code of visual rules
and meanings. Egyptian civilization is renowned for its colossal
pyramids, colonnades and monumental tombs. Well-known examples are
the Pyramid of Djoser designed by ancient architect and engineer
Imhotep, the Sphinx, and the temple of Abu Simbel. Modern and
contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the
world art scene, from the vernacular architecture of Hassan Fathy
and Ramses Wissa Wassef, to Mahmoud Mokhtar's famous sculptures, to
the distinctive Coptic iconography of Isaac Fanous.
The
Cairo Opera House serves as the main performing arts venue in
the Egyptian capital.
Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished
since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty
satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced
each year.
Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle
East;" its annual film festival, the
Cairo International Film
Festival, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class
rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations.To bolster its media industry further, especially with
the keen competition from the Persian Gulf Arab States and Lebanon,
a large media city was built. Some Egyptian-born actors, like Omar
Sharif, have achieved worldwide fame.
Literature
Literature is an important cultural element in the life of
Egypt.
Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with
modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed
have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first
modern Egyptian novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal was published
in 1913 in the Egyptian vernacular.Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz
was the first Arabic-language writer to win the Nobel Prize in
Literature. Egyptian women writers include Nawal El Saadawi, well
known for her feminist activism, and Alifa Rifaat who also writes
about women and tradition.
Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre among
Egyptians, represented by the works of Ahmed Fouad Negm (Fagumi),
Salah Jaheen and Abdel Rahman el-Abnudi. In their belief, boats were
used by the dead to accompany the sun around the world, as Heaven
was referred to as “Upper Waters”. In Egyptian mythology, every
night the serpentine god Apophis would attack the Sun Boat as it
brought the sun (and as such order ) back to the Kingdom in the
morning. It is referred to as the “Boat of Millions” as all the gods
and souls of the blessed dead may at one point or another be needed
to defend or operate it.
Music
Egyptian music is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean,
African and Western elements. In antiquity, Egyptians were playing
harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the ney and
the oud. Percussion and vocal music also became an important part of
the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music
traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l
Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of
Egyptian music giants such as Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed
Abdel Wahab and Abdel Halim Hafez. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian
pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture,
while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and
other festivities. Some of the most prominent contemporary Egyptian
pop singers include Amr Diab and Mohamed Mounir.
Festivals
Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also
known as mulid. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic
or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians
irrespective of creed or religion. Ramadan has a special flavor in
Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region
flock to
Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient
spring festival of Sham en Nisim has been celebrated by Egyptians
for thousands of years, typically between the Egyptian months of
Paremoude (April) and Pashons (May), following Easter Sunday.
Egypt is one of the boldest countries in the Middle East in the
music industry. The next generation of the Egyptian music is
considered to be the rise, as the music was disrupted by some
foreign influences, bad admixing, and abused oriental styles. The
new arising talents starting from the late 1990s are taking over the
rein now as they play different genres of many cultures. Rock And
Metal music are prevailing widely in
Egypt now, as much as the
oriental jazz and folk music are becoming well-known now to the
Egyptian and non-Egyptian fans
Sports
Football is the Popular National Sport of
Egypt. Egyptian Soccer
clubs El Ahly, El Zamalek, Ismaily, El-Ittihad El-Iskandary and El
Masry are the most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of
long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets
of
Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favorite
team wins. The
Cairo Derby is one of the fiercest derbies in Africa
and the world, the BBC even picked it as one of the toughest 7
derbies in the world.
Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has
been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African
championships such as the Africa Cup of Nations. While,
Egypt's
national team has not qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990,
the Egyptian team won the Africa Cup Of Nations an unprecedented
seven times, including two times in a row in 1957 and 1959 and an
unprecedented three times in a row in 2006, 2008, and 2010 setting a
world record.
Squash and tennis are other popular sports in
Egypt. The Egyptian
squash team has been known for its fierce competition in
international championships since the 1930s. Amr Shabana is
Egypt's
best player and the winner of the world open three times and the
best player of 2006.
The Egyptian Handball team also holds another record; throughout the
34 times the African Handball Nations Championship was held,
Egypt
won first place five times (including 2008), five times second
place, four times third place, and came in fourth place twice. The
team won 6th and 7th places in 1995, 1997 at the World Men's
Handball Championship, and twice won 6th place at the 1996 and 2000
Olympics.
In 2007, Omar Samra joined Ben Stephens (England), Victoria James
(Wales) and Greg Maud (South Africa) in putting together an
expedition to climb Mount Everest from its South side. The Everest
expedition began on 25 March 2007 and lasted for just over 9 weeks.
On the 17th of May at precisely 9:49 am Nepal time, Omar became the
first and youngest Egyptian to climb 8,850m Mount Everest. He also
became the first Egyptian to climb Everest from its South face, the
same route taken by Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing in 1953.
Egypt has taken part in the Summer Olympics since 1912.
Military
The Egyptian Armed forces have combined troop strength of around
450,000 active personnel According to the Israeli chair of the
former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Yuval
Steinitz, the Egyptian Air Force has roughly the same number of
modern warplanes as the Israeli Air Force and far more Western
tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the IDF.
The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military
modernization mostly in their Air Force.
Egypt is speculated by
Israel to be the first country in the region with a spy satellite,
Egypt Sat 1, and is planning to launch 3 more satellites
(DesertSat1,
EgyptSat2, and DesertSat2) over the next two years. In
Israel,
Egypt is considered to be the second strongest military
power in the Middle East, behind Israel.
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