Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives, as visitors to the country quickly discover. The rolling calls to prayer that are heard five times a day have the informal effect of regulating the pace of everything from business to entertainment. Cairo is famous for its numerous mosque minarets and church towers. Unfortunately, this religious landscape has been marred by a long-standing record of relgious extremism,[30] most recently typified in a 16 December 2006 judgment of the Supreme Administative Council of Egypt which has insisted on a clear demarcation between "recognized religions"—Islam, Christianity and Judaism—and all other religious beliefs—thus effectively delegitimatizing and forbidding practice of all but these aforementioned religions.[31] This judgment has lead to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to denial of identification cards which is tantamount to the denial of their right to citizenship.
Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at approximately 90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam.[1] A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native Sufi orders.[32] Christians represent about 10% of the population, 90% of whom belong to the native Coptic denominations (primarily Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, but also Coptic Catholic Church and Coptic Evangelical Church), while the remainder include Roman Catholic Church, Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Syriac Orthodox of Antioch, and Armenian Apostolic Church and some Uniate Catholic Churches such as the Maronite, Chaldean, Syriac Catholic and Armenian Catholic Churches, largely found in Alexandria and Cairo.[1]
According to the constitution, any new legislation must implicitly agree with Islamic laws. The mainstream Hanafi school of Sunni Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. Imams are trained in Imam vocational schools and at Al-Azhar University. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give Fatwa judgements on Islamic issues.
Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. Al-Azhar University (Arabic: جامعة الأزهر) is the oldest Islamic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 A.D) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. Egypt also has a strong Christian heritage as evidenced by the existence of the Coptic Orthodox Church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria, which has a following of approximately 50 million Christians worldwide, most importantly in Ethiopia, Syria and Eritrea.
