Religion has played an important role in the everyday life
of Egyptians throughout their history. In ancient Egypt they followed a
polytheistic religion that worshiped hundreds of gods, many of which were involved
in everyday activities. The two major gods that were worshiped throughout
Egypt were the sun god, or Ra, and the god of the dead, Osiris. Although these
were recognized throughout the country, there were many other “minor” gods that
people would worship based on location, occupation, and a number of other aspects
of their lives.
Modern day Egypt is roughly 90% Muslim, nearly all of which are
Sunni and it is the official religion of Egypt. About 10% of the population is
considered to be Christians belonging to the Coptic Orthodox church. Muslim and
Christianity are the major religious views of Egypt but there are also small
groups who follow the Jewish religion, the Baha;I faith, and a number of other Christian
sects. Officially the government of Egypt promotes religious freedom, however,
there are many events and actions taken by the government that contradict this statement.
There are articles written in the Penal Code that prohibit “unorthodox practices
and beliefs” and also anything that conflicts with Shari’ah, an Islamic law, is
strictly prohibited. Although there are strange contradictions to the freedom
of religion practices discrimination does happen too many of the different religions.
In 1981 the president was forced to arrest a group of militant Muslims and
Copts. Furthermore, in 1993 a group of “American workers were arrested for suspicion
of attempted Christian proselytizing” which is an act strictly prohibited by
law (They were eventually released).
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