For almost 5500 years Egypt
was a civilization that followed many gods as portrayed here. They had incorporated some gods from the eastern decent. As new dynasties came into being, new gods would be introduced.
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Once Rome conquered Egypt,
it was no longer considered a world power.
The Romans were known to conquer a land and not remove their gods, just
add their gods to the ones already present.
While still under Roman rule, it is believed that St. Mark, a disciple of
Christ and who wrote the second book of the Bible, started the first Christian
church in Alexandria, Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt descended from St. Mark who is believed to be from Lybia. This would be the reason why he would have gone to Egypt after Christ ascended to heaven. He taught the people of Christ. He was their first Martyr. Because of their beliefs in separation of Church and State, they have been left alone. The branch of Islam that rested in Egypt was called Sunni. This group did not bother the Coptic Church because Mohammed, their great prophet, had an Egyptian wife and told him to treat the people well and he would prosper. Many believe this is why Islam has flourished in this country. The cross is a big symbol of the Coptic Church as seen in the following picture.
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| http://chthonickore.blogspot.com/2013/10/rest-in-pieces.html |
After this group, Islam
invades. The Christian Church (Coptic
Church) was around during Roman reign; however, the people politically were
ready for Rome to be removed from their home.
The oppressive nature of Rome, made Islam a welcome change to many of
the people. In 639 A.D., they saw Islam as a savior from Rome. As Islam invaded, it did not so much push out
other religions, it just set up its political field, which would ultimately
rule that other religions must follow their Islamic laws. Therefore, persecution of Christians, Catholics,
Jews and even Coptic Christians was seen off and on throughout the reign of
Islam.
In the 1500s the Ottoman
Empire invaded Egypt. It is interesting
to note that the beliefs of the Ottoman Empire was Islamic; however, the
Muslims of Egypt fled when the Ottoman Empire invaded. This was due to the fact that as it invaded
it replaced the previous religious leaders, who were also the political leader,
with their own leaders. Islam is a political religion. The leader of the Islamic community was also
the leader of the country.
World War I brought an end
to the Ottoman Empire. This was mostly
due to their influence in other areas they had control such as Turkey. Britain also did not want Russia in Egypt and
pushed to be sure they did not get control of this area.
Pharaohs were seen as gods, so having a religious leader that was also the political leader was not new to them. Sunni Islam is still the religion of the
country with “90% of the population are Muslim and 8% to 10% are Christian,”[1] The reason Islam is able to keep such a hold
on Egypt is because it is a political religion.
Also, it has incorporated into its religion many of the holidays that
Egypt already celebrated. Since Egypt
from the beginning was a religious country, these new religions were able to
come in and bring their beliefs which would then be incorporated into their
daily life.
Bibliography
Armanios, Febe. Coptic Christianity in Ottoman Egypt.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.
"Egypt - Religions."
Religions. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Egypt-RELIGIONS.html.
Accessed August 8, 2015.
Hathaway, Jane. A Tale of Two Factions Myth, Memory, and
Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. Albany, New York: State University of
New York, 2003.
Johansen, Julian. Sufism and Islamic Reform in Egypt: The
Battle for Islamic Tradition. Oxford: Clarendon Press ; 1996.
[1] Egypt – Religions.” Religions. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Egypt-RELIGIONS.html.
Accessed August 8, 2015.
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