Islam in Egypt

Islam is the dominant religion in Egypt, with approximately 89% of Egyptians identifying as Muslims. The majority of Egyptian Muslims are adherents of Sunni Islam, while a small minority adhere to Shia Islam. Since 1980, Islam has served as Egypt's state religion. Due to the lack of a religious census, owing to the alleged undercounting of non-Muslim minorities in Egyptian censuses, the actual percentage of Muslims is unknown; the percentage of Egyptian Christians, who are the second-largest religious group in the country, is estimated to be between 6% and 11% of the population.

Prior to the French campaign in Egypt and Syria under Napoleon Bonaparte, almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Under the Ottoman Empire, the public and political roles of the ulama (i.e., Muslim religious scholars) were reinforced, in an effective continuation of the policies of the Mamluk Sultanate. Traditionally, political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. During the 19th and 20th centuries, successive governments made extensive efforts to limit the role of the ulama in public life, and religious institutions were increasingly brought under closer levels of state control.

After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the new government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and Islamic schools. Likewise, it mandated the reform of Al-Azhar University, beginning in 1961. These policies permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally-trained orthodox ulama.