What type of muslims are in egypt

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International Maps World and regional maps for measures of religious adherence, socio-economics, and religion and state relations. Search National Profiles:. Stay Connected. Subscribe to the ARDA:. GIS Maps. After a determination is made that the intent of the change — which often also entails a name change — is not to evade prosecution for a crime committed under the Muslim name, a new identity document should be issued with the Christian name and religious designation. In those cases in which Muslims not born Muslim convert from Islam, their minor children, and in some cases adult children who were minors when their parents converted, remain classified as Muslims.

When these children reach the age of 18, they have the option of converting to Christianity and having that reflected on their identity cards. Consistent with sharia, the law stipulates Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men.

Non-Muslim men who wish to marry Muslim women must convert to Islam. Christian and Jewish women need not convert to marry Muslim men. A married non-Muslim woman who converts to Islam must divorce her husband if he is not Muslim and is unwilling to convert.

A woman in this situation can continue to live with her husband until she has a legal need to prove her marriage, at which time the marriage may be considered void.

If a married man is discovered to have left Islam, his marriage to a woman whose official religious designation is Muslim is dissolved. Children from any unrecognized marriage are considered illegitimate. A divorced mother is entitled to custody of her son until the age of 10 and her daughter until age 12, unless one parent is Muslim and the other is not, in which case the Muslim parent is awarded custody.

The law generally follows sharia in matters of inheritance. In , however, an appellate court ruled applying sharia to non-Muslims violated the section of the constitution stating the rules of the Christians and Jewish communities govern in personal status matters. Previously part of the Ministry of Justice, Dar Al Iftaa has been an independent organization since Islamic, Christian, and Jewish denominations may request official recognition from the government, which gives a denomination the right to be governed by its canonical laws, practice religious rituals, establish houses of worship, and import religious literature.

The department then determines whether the group poses a threat to national unity or social peace. As part of this determination, the department consults leading religious institutions, including the Coptic Orthodox Church and Al-Azhar. The president then reviews and decides on the registration application. The law does not stipulate any penalties for banned religious groups or their members who engage in religious practices, but these groups are barred from rights granted to recognized groups, such as having their own houses of worship or other property, holding bank accounts, or importing religious literature.

The government appoints and monitors imams, who lead prayers in licensed mosques and pays their salaries. The penalty doubles for repeat offenders. Ministry of Awqaf inspectors also have judicial authority to arrest imams violating this law. A ministry decree prevents unlicensed imams from preaching in any mosque, prohibits holding Friday prayers in mosques smaller than 80 square meters square feet , bans unlicensed mosques from holding Friday prayer services other prayer services are permitted , and pays bonuses to imams who deliver Friday sermons consistent with Ministry of Awqaf guidelines.

Any imam who does not follow the guidelines loses the bonus and may be subject to disciplinary measures, including losing his preaching license. The ministry also issues prewritten sermons as an obligatory guide for imams to draw from, and ministry personnel monitor Friday sermons in major mosques. The cabinet may ban works it deems offensive to public morals, detrimental to religion, or likely to cause a breach of the peace.

The Islamic Research Center of Al-Azhar has the legal authority to censor and confiscate any publications dealing with the Quran and the authoritative Islamic traditions hadith , and to confiscate publications, tapes, speeches, and artistic materials deemed inconsistent with Islamic law.

The governor is required to respond within four months of receipt of the application for legalization; any refusal must include a written justification. The law does not provide for review or appeal of a refusal, nor does it specify recourse if a governor does not respond within the required timeframe. The law also includes provisions to legalize existing unlicensed churches.

It stipulates that while a request to license an existing building for use as a church is pending, the use of the building to conduct church services and rites may not be prevented.

Construction of new churches must meet stringent land registration procedures and building codes and is subject to greater government scrutiny than that applied to the construction of new mosques. Under a separate law governing the construction of mosques, the Ministry of Awqaf approves permits to build mosques. Determinations of religious identity are based on official designations, not personal or parental decisions.

Students who are neither Muslim nor Christian must choose one or the other course; they may not opt out or change from one to the other. A common set of textbooks for these two courses is mandated for both public and private schools, including Christian-owned schools.

Al-Azhar maintains a separate school system that serves approximately two million students from elementary through secondary school, using its own curriculum.

Customary reconciliation is a form of dispute resolution that predates modern judicial and legal systems. Customary reconciliation sessions rely on the accumulation of a set of customary rules to address conflicts between individuals, families, households, or workers and employees of certain professions.

Parties to disputes agree upon a resolution that typically contains stipulations to pay an agreed-upon amount of money for breaching the terms of the agreement. With Family House branches throughout the country, Al-Azhar, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and other Christian denominations convene opposing parties to a sectarian dispute with the goal of restoring communal peace through dialogue. The Family House, however, is not uniformly active.

Sources say in some areas, such as Assiut, the Family House is quite active, while in others, such as Cairo, it has become inactive. The government recognizes only the marriages of Christians, Jews, and Muslims with documentation from a cleric. In cases where one spouse is Muslim and the other a member of a different religion, both are Christians but members of different denominations, or the individuals are not clearly a part of a religious group, the courts apply sharia.

Sharia provisions forbidding adoption apply to all citizens. The quasi-governmental National Council for Human Rights, whose members are appointed by parliament, is charged with strengthening protections, raising awareness, and ensuring the observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom.

It also is charged with monitoring enforcement and application of international agreements pertaining to human rights. The constitution mandates the state eliminate all forms of discrimination through an independent commission to be established by parliament.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR but declared in a reservation that it became a party considering that the provisions of the covenant do not conflict with sharia.

In December the Prisons Authority carried out the death sentence of Ibrahim Ismail, who was convicted in April of killing eight Christians and a policeman in December In May the Supreme Court of Military Appeals upheld 17 of 36 death sentences that an Alexandria military court issued for the bombings of Coptic churches between and in Cairo, Alexandria, and Tanta, resulting in the deaths of more than 80 persons.

The court commuted the sentences of 19 other defendants to life imprisonment, eight to 15 years, and another to 10 years. International human rights organizations expressed concern about these mass convictions and said the proceedings did not meet international fair trial standards.

In May the Cairo Criminal Court sentenced two defendants to death, two to life imprisonment, and six others to prison terms ranging from three to six years for killing 11 persons in December in an attack on a Coptic church and Christian-owned shop in Helwan, a suburb south of Cairo.

On July 1, the Court of Cassation upheld a death sentence issued against a suspect convicted of killing two Copts, terrorizing the Christian community of Shamiya village in Assiut, and imposing taxes on the village in On March 30, a Cairo court sentenced 30 men to prison terms of 10 years to life for planning a suicide bombing of a church in Alexandria as well as other charges, including the bombing of a liquor store in Damietta.

Eighteen defendants received life terms, eight received 15 years in prison, and four received 10 years. Ten of those convicted remained at large, and the court sentenced them in absentia.

Authorities said the defendants had embraced ISIS ideology. They charged him with joining a banned group and spreading false news. His arrest coincided with his application for a Swiss visa to speak at a Geneva UN forum on November 28 and 29, where, in the past, he discussed issues relating to the Coptic community. On February 7, Christian activists circulated a video depicting a group of Al-Azhar students mocking Christian religious practices. Al-Azhar University referred the students to a disciplinary board at the university and in a statement said Al-Azhar strongly condemned such actions.

Authorities banned Gaber from travel abroad in and accused him of insulting Islam and sharia, disrupting communal peace, and other charges stemming from a series of videos he posted on YouTube. On September 16, Gaber posted on his Facebook page that he was sentenced to three years in prison for contempt of religions and disturbing the public peace. Families break the fast together at sunset, at a meal called the iftar , which literally means "breaking of the fast. The night is spent visiting family and friends and eating special foods associated with Ramadan.

Cairo is lit up during Ramadan, with lights strung in the streets, and buildings illuminated while people walk outside to visit each other and break their fast. Although Ramadan sounds to most non-Muslims like a long and painful month, many Muslims look forward to Ramadan as a time of celebration.

The first day of the month of Shawwal is Eid al-Fitr , which means "Celebration of the Breaking of the Fast" because it comes at the end of Ramadan. The celebrations usually last for three or four days, during which people gather at the mosque, and visit each other for food and conversation. The Eid is also a traditional time to buy and wear new clothes, and children receive gifts of money or toys.

It is also at the time of the Eid when many Muslims will fulfill their obligations to pay alms the zakat al-fitr at their mosque. The month of Dhul Hijjah is the month when Muslims make the pilgrimage, or hajj , to Mecca. This is the day during the pilgrimage that Abraham's sacrifice is commemorated, and Muslims around the world observe this day. On this day, Muslim families sacrifice or arrange to have sacrificed a lamb, goat, cow, or other such animal.

The usual practice is to divide the meat into thirds: one third for themselves, one third goes to relatives, and one third is donated to the poor. Some wealthy families will buy sacrifice a second animal and donate it to the poor. People often give gifts to children during the Eid, usually consisting of money or toys. Special prayers and sermons are delivered on major holidays, and throughout Ramadan.

The celebrations of both Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr can last for several days. School children get the week off from school, and offices and business close to allow people to spend time with their families.

The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad Mawlid al-Nabi is not an official religious holiday, although many Egyptians celebrate it anyway. It falls on the 12th of Rabi al-Awwal. This is a joyous holiday, celebrated with music and dancing that often last late into the night. Other saints birthdays are also celebrated in Egypt at local mosques. Another unofficial religious holiday is Laylat al-Miraj , which falls between the 23rd and 27th of Ramadan.

This holiday commemorates the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and on to Paradise on the heavenly being called Buraq.