Religious Freedom in Egypt Samuel Tadros

No. 2487 November 9, 2010 Religious Freedom in Egypt Samuel Tadros Abstract: The Egyptian government has played a major role in creating and maintaining a religiously intolerant environment in Egypt that is hostile to non-Muslims and Talking Points any Muslims who deviate from government-endorsed reli- • Egypt’s ongoing cycle of religious intolerance gious norms and traditions. This intolerant environment is driven by four forces in Egyptian society: that stifles independent thinking and religious liberty is the the regime, the religious establishment, natural breeding ground for Islamist extremists. The U.S. Islamists, and society at large. should encourage the Egyptian government to address this • Of these four, the regime is the key to stop- root cause of Islamist extremism by establishing and pro- ping the cycle of intolerance because of the tecting true religious freedom at home. natural capabilities of the state and its authoritarian nature and because the state plays a major role in perpetuating the cycle of intolerance. Religious liberty, Islamist extremism, and terrorism are closely interrelated. Therefore, the struggle for reli- • By enacting and enforcing laws that protect gious freedom is at the heart of the current war against the rights of religious minorities and the right terrorism, and the U.S. government should treat it as of independent religious thought, the regime can break this destructive cycle and foster such, particularly in Egypt, a country that is strategi- an environment that is resistant to Islamic cally important to the United States. extremism. With a population of 83 million and located at • Religious freedom must be a part of any real the center of the Middle East, Egypt has long domi- defense against Islamic extremism that both nated its Arabic-speaking neighbors politically and maintains people’s freedoms and diminishes culturally. While military defeat in 1967, economic religious radicalism and Islamist terrorism. decline, and political stagnation have eroded some of its influence, Egypt remains an influential country in the region due to the realities of geography, size, and history. Religious freedom in Egypt—or, more precisely, This paper, in its entirety, can be found at: the lack thereof—turns on the interrelationship of http://report.heritage.org/bg2487 four forces in Egypt: the regime, the religious estab- Produced by the Asian Studies Center lishment, the Islamists, and society at large. Each Published by The Heritage Foundation 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE entity has its own internal considerations and goals Washington, DC 20002–4999 (202) 546-4400 • heritage.org Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. No. 2487 November 9, 2010 that help to diminish religious freedom, but the tory. Government activity in areas of religion in dynamic relationship between them creates the Egypt’s post-Ottoman era has been associated with ongoing cycle of intolerance. Given the nature of two phenomena that have had lasting effects on the this dynamic, any attempt to deal with religious understanding of religious freedom: the mind-set freedom issues in Egypt must start at the state level. created by the Ottoman millet system and modern The U.S. government should use every available nationalism. avenue to encourage the Egyptian government to From the 16th century through the 19th century, enact and enforce laws that protect the religious the Ottoman Empire organized and modernized the freedom of all Egyptians. millet system. While the system was quite tolerant Religious freedom must be part of any real for its times, it was based on a notion of each reli- defense against Islamist extremism and terrorism gious group as a nation. Each religious group was that maintains people’s freedoms. given autonomy in its own affairs, but the side effect was that these groups were viewed as both alien and The Religious Environment in Egypt constituting a collective identity. With such a men- Egypt’s population is predominantly Sunni Mus- tality, new religious groups were viewed with suspi- lim. Exact numbers are impossible to ascertain cion as they deviated and broke away from the because such statistics are a state secret. This secrecy organized and recognized sects. The emergence of is reminiscent of a police state, which Egypt remains modern nationalism in Egypt exacerbated this per- in many respects, but the secrecy also serves the ception. Egyptian nationalism, first emerging in the state’s interest in deflating the numbers of religious 1919 revolution against the British occupation, was minorities. According to the latest official census based on the concept of national unity—the unity figures (1986), Christians account for less than 6 of Muslims and Christians, the unity of two distinct percent of the population. To stanch criticism, later groups that are united in the national project. Other censuses have simply not given any figure. The U.S. religious groups were suspect. State Department places the number at 8 percent to 1 The lack of a philosophical foundation for indi- 12 percent, while the U.S. Commission on Interna- vidualism resulted not only in the development of tional Religious Freedom (USCIRF) cites a range of 2 group identity, but also in the state adhering to this 10 percent to 15 percent. The government does group mentality regarding individual citizens. The not acknowledge the existence of non-Sunni Mus- organized religious communities were all too will- lim groups, which are deemed deviant versions of ing to adhere to this arrangement. Religious leaders Islam. Independent sources estimate that Shiites are were given full control of both heavenly rewards less than 1 percent of the population. and the earthly success of their coreligionists. Once Non-Muslim groups include Christians, 2,000 the Egyptian nationalist project collapsed and was Baha’is, and 120 elderly Jews, who are the remnants replaced by other identities—Arab nationalism and of a once thriving Jewish community that num- Islamism—it was only a matter of time before the bered in the tens of thousands. Christians are gen- dynamics between religious groups turned sour erally referred to as Copts, and a majority of them and the state became suspicious of religious minor- belong to the indigenous Orthodox Church. Size- ities and deviations. able minorities belong to the Catholic Church and Concern for religious freedom in Egypt has long various Protestant sects. been focused on the plight of minorities, especially The story of Egypt’s tense relationship with the Christians. In reality, Muslims have been the great- concept of religious freedom is deeply rooted in his- est victims of the lack of religious freedom. While 1. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, “Egypt,” in International Religious Freedom Report 2009, October 26, 2009, at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127346.htm (September 16, 2010). 2. U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, Annual Report 2010, May 2010, p. 230, at http://www.uscirf.gov/ images/ar2010/egypt2010.pdf (September 16, 2010). page 2 No. 2487 November 9, 2010 persecution of religious minorities is more severe The Egyptian Regime. Western observers often and noticeable, the Muslims’ lack of ability to think describe the Egyptian regime as secular, in contrast separately about religion and to enjoy the freedom to the Islamists, who challenge the regime, and the to believe, practice, and worship according to their Islamists’ definition of the regime. However, this own conscience has resulted not only in suppres- description ignores the regime’s underlying com- sion, but also in a controlled religious environment plexities. Egypt’s rulers are neither Turkey’s Mustafa that has proven a fertile ground for Islamists. Kemal Atatürk nor Tunisia’s Habib Bourguiba, both The basic Egyptian understanding of religious of whom shared a modern, secular vision modeled freedom is limited, often understood as simply free- on the French example. dom to worship, albeit under significant con- While Egypt’s rulers have fought the Islamists straints. An understanding of religious freedom as and challenged the religious establishment on vari- the right of all faiths to bring religiously based val- ous issues, they have not held a secular viewpoint or _________________________________________ attempted to limit the role that religion plays in Egypt. They focused on taking control of religion, The basic Egyptian understanding of religious which they viewed as a dangerous weapon in the freedom is limited, often understood as simply freedom to worship, albeit under significant hands of their enemies. Egypt’s three modern rulers constraints. have pursued this policy with varying degrees of ____________________________________________ success using methods ranging from the stick to the carrot. Human rights organizations have described ues to the public square is virtually nonexistent. the result: “As religion has been increasingly This is partly a matter of priorities. A religious per- exploited as a tool for state administration, the state son who is not permitted to build a place to worship has begun to acquire some theocratic features.”3 is unlikely to be concerned with the right of adop- Gamal Abdel Nasser ended the dual court sys- tion, something accepted by Christianity but tem in Egypt when he closed the religious courts. rejected by Islam,

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