The republic of Egypt has recognized Islam as the state religion since 1980. At least 80% of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims, many of whom follow local Sufi orders, and a small number are Shi'a. Much of the rest of the population are Christians, the large majority of whom belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. World Factbook estimates that they constitute about 8 million, or 10%, of the Egyptian population. However, Coptic Christian estimates say that they constitute up to 20% of the total population [1]. Christians are geographically dispersed throughout the country, although the percentage of Christians tends to be higher in upper (southern) Egypt and some sections of Cairo and Alexandria.[2][3]
Prior to Napoleon's invasion, almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries. Ottoman rule reinforced the public and political roles of the ulama (religious scholars) because Islam was the state religion and because political divisions in the country were based on religious divisions. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, successive governments made extensive efforts to limit the role of the ulama in public life and to bring religious institutions under closer state control. The secular transformation of public life in Egypt depended on the development of a civil bureaucracy that would absorb many of the ulama's responsibilities in the country.
After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques and religious schools. The government mandated reform of Al-Azhar University beginning in 1961. These reforms permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally trained orthodox ulama.
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