Egypt

Egypt (: Kemet; :  Kīmi; :  مصر  Miṣr ; : Máṣr), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country in that includes the, a land bridge to. Covering an area of about 1,001,450 square kilometers (386,560 sq mi), Egypt borders to the west,  to the south, and the  and  to the east. The northern coast borders the and the island of ; the eastern coast borders the.

Egypt is one of the most populous countries in. The great majority of its estimated 78 million people (2007) live near the banks of the in an area of about 40,000 km² (15,000 sq mi) where the only  agricultural land is found. The large areas of the  are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypt's residents live in urban areas, with the majority spread across the densely populated centers of greater, and other major cities in the.

Egypt is famous for its and some of the world's most famous monuments, including the  and the. The southern city of contains numerous ancient artifacts, such as the  Temple and the. Egypt is widely regarded as an important political and cultural nation of the.

Etymology
One of the ancient names of the country, Kemet (kṃt), or "black land" (from kem "black"), is derived from the fertile black soils deposited by the Nile floods, distinct from the deshret, or "red land" (dšṛt), of the desert. The name is realized as kīmi and kīmə in the stage of the Egyptian language, and appeared in early Greek as  (Kymeía). Another name was t3-mry "land of the riverbank". The names of were Ta-Sheme'aw  (t3-šmˁw) "sedgeland" and Ta-Mehew (t3 mḥw) "northland", respectively.

Miṣr, the and modern official name of Egypt (: Maṣr), is of  origin, directly  with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the   (Mitzráyim), literally meaning "the two straits" (a reference to the dynastic separation of upper and lower Egypt). The word originally connoted "metropolis" or "civilization" and also means "country", or "frontier-land".

The English name "Egypt" came via the word Aegyptus derived from the  word Aígyptos (Αίγυπτος). The adjective aigýpti, aigýptios was borrowed into Coptic as gyptios, kyptios, and from there into Arabic as qubṭī, back formed into qubṭ, whence English . The term is derived from Hikuptah "Memphis", a corruption of the earlier  name Hat-ka-Ptah (ḥwt-k3-ptḥ), meaning "home of the  (soul) of Ptah", the name of a temple to the god  at. provided a according to which Aígyptos (Αίγυπτος) had evolved as a compound from Aegaeon uptiōs (Aἰγαίου ὑπτίως), meaning "below the Aegean".

History


The has been a site of continuous human habitation since at least the  era. Evidence of this appears in the form of artifacts and rock carvings along the terraces and in the desert oases. In the, a culture of s and replaced a -grinding. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled  and more centralized.

By about 6000 BC, organized agriculture and large building construction had appeared in the Nile Valley. During the era, several  cultures developed independently in. The culture and the successor  series are generally regarded as precursors to. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on  III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC.

A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 by King, giving rise to a  that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. subsequently referred to their unified country as tawy, meaning "two lands", and later kemet (: kīmi), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its, , and customs. The of a unified Egypt set the stage for the  period, c.2700−2200 BC., famous for its many, most notably the   and the.

The ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh. A heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by, who founded the and relocated the capital from  to.

The (c.1550−1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an international power that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as  in, and included parts of the  in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known s, including, , and his wife ,  and. The first known self-conscious expression of came during this period in the form of. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded by, and ns, but native Egyptians drove them out and regained control of their country.

The was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King, was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the and, beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule.

Before Egypt became part of the realm, Christianity had been brought by  in the AD first century. 's reign marked the transition from the to the  era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the in AD 451, a distinct  was firmly established.

The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was  by the. The form of Islam the Arabs brought to Egypt was. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through Coptic Christianity, giving rise to various orders that have flourished to this day. Muslim rulers nominated by the  for the next six centuries, including a period for which it was the seat of the Caliphate under the s. With the end of the, the s, a - military caste, took control about AD 1250. They continued to govern even after the by the  in 1517.

The brief led by  in 1798 had a great social impact on the country and its culture. Native Egyptians became exposed to the principles of the and had a chance to exercise. A series of civil wars took place between the Ottoman Turks, the Mamluks, and Albanian mercenaries following the evacuation of French troops, resulting in the Albanian (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha). He was appointed as the Ottoman in 1805. He led a modernization campaign of public works, including irrigation projects, agricultural reforms and increased industrialization, which were then taken up and further expanded by his grandson and successor.

Following the completion of the by Ismail in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation and trading hub. In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the government. Its members were elected from across Egypt. They came to have an important influence on governmental affairs. The country fell heavily into debt to European powers. Ostensibly to protect its investments, the  of Egypt's government in 1882. Egypt gave nominal allegiance to the until 1914. As a result of the declaration of, Britain declared a over Egypt and deposed the  , replacing him with his uncle, , who was appointed.

Between 1882 and 1906, a local nationalist movement for independence was taking shape. The prompted Egyptian opposition to take a stronger stand against British occupation. The first political parties were founded. After the First World War, and the  led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local Legislative Assembly. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to on, , the country arose in its. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on,.

The new Egyptian government drafted and implemented a new in 1923 based on a  representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly-elected as in 1924. In 1936 the was concluded.

Continued instability in the government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ouster of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military  known as the. The officers, known as the, forced King to abdicate in support of his son.

On, the Egyptian Republic was declared,  with General  as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by – the real architect of the 1952 movement – and was later put under. Nasser assumed as President and declared the full independence of Egypt from the  on. His of the  on   prompted the 1956.

Three years after the 1967, during which had invaded and occupied , Nasser died and was succeeded by. Sadat switched Egypt's allegiance from the  to the, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike.

In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the, a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. It was an attempt to liberate the territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Both the and the  intervened and a cease-fire was reached. Despite not being a complete military success, most historians agree that the presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to pursue peace with Israel.

In 1977, Sadat made a historic visit to Israel, which led to the 1979 in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the Arab world and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians. A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent. In 2003, the, popularly known as Kifaya, was launched to seek a return to and greater.

Identity
The Egyptian Nile Valley was home to one of the, spanning three thousand years of continuous history. When Egypt fell under a after 343 BC, each left an indelible mark on the country's. evolved in the span of this long period of occupation to accommodate, in principle, two new religions, and ; and a new language,, and its spoken descendant,. The degree to which different groups in Egypt identify with these factors in articulating a sense of collective identity can vary greatly. Identity is a source of frequent debate.

Questions of identity came to fore in the last century as Egypt sought to free itself from foreign occupation for the first time in two thousand years. Three chief ideologies came to head: ethno-territorial Egyptian nationalism and by extension, secular and , and. Egyptian nationalism predates its Arab counterpart by many decades, having roots in the nineteenth century and becoming the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian anti-colonial activists of the pre- and inter-war periods. It was nearly always articulated in exclusively Egyptian terms:

What is most significant [about Egypt in this period] is the absence of an Arab component in early Egyptian nationalism. The thrust of Egyptian political, economic, and cultural development throughout the nineteenth century worked against, rather than for, an "Arab" orientation... This situation—that of divergent political trajectories for and s—if anything increased after 1900.

In 1931 following a visit to Egypt, Syrian Arab nationalist remarked that "[Egyptians] did not possess an Arab nationalist sentiment; did not accept that Egypt was a part of the Arab lands, and would not acknowledge that the Egyptian people were part of the Arab nation." The later 1930s would become a formative period for Arab nationalism in Egypt, in large part due to efforts by Syrian/Palestinian/Lebanese intellectuals. A year after the establishment of the in 1945, to be headquartered in Cairo,  historian H. S. Deighton was still writing:

The Egyptians are not Arabs, and both they and the Arabs are aware of this fact. They are Arabic-speaking, and they are Muslim —indeed religion plays a greater part in their lives than it does in those either of the Syrians or the Iraqi. But the Egyptian, during the first thirty years of the [twentieth] century, was not aware of any particular bond with the Arab East... Egypt sees in the Arab cause a worthy object of real and active sympathy and, at the same time, a great and proper opportunity for the exercise of leadership, as well as for the enjoyment of its fruits. But she is still Egyptian first and Arab only in consequence, and her main interests are still domestic.

It was not until the era more than a decade later that Arab nationalism became a state policy and a means with which to define Egypt's position in the Middle East and the world. usually articulated vis-à-vis in the neighboring Jewish state.

For a while Egypt and formed the United Arab Republic. When the union was dissolved, the current official name of Egypt was adopted, the Arab Republic of Egypt. Egypt's attachment to Arabism, however, was particularly questioned after its defeat in the 1967. Thousands of Egyptians lost their lives and the country become disillusioned with Arab politics. Nasser's successor, both by policy and through his peace initiative with , revived an uncontested Egyptian orientation, unequivocally asserting that only Egypt was his responsibility. The terms "Arab", "Arabism" and "Arab unity", save for the new official name, became conspicuously absent. Indeed, as professor of Egyptian history P. J. Vatikiotis explains:

...the impact of the October 1973 War (also known as the Ramadan or Yom Kippur War) found Egyptians reverting to an earlier sense of national identity, that of Egyptianism. Egypt became their foremost consideration and top priority in contrast to the earlier one, preferred by the Nasser régime, of Egypt's role and primacy in the Arab world. This kind of national 'restoration' was led by the Old Man of Egyptian Nationalism, Tawfiq el-Hakim, who in the 1920s and 1930s was associated with the Pharaonist movement. The question of identity continues to be debated today. Many Egyptians feel that Egyptian and Arab identities are linked and not necessarily incompatible. Many others continue to believe that Egypt and Egyptians are simply not Arab. They emphasize indigenous Egyptian heritage, culture and independent polity; point to the failures of Arab nationalist policies; and publicly voice objection to the present official name of the country. Ordinary Egyptians frequently express this sentiment. For example, a foreign tourist said after visiting Egypt,"Although an avowedly Islamic country and now part and parcel of the Arab world, Egyptians are very proud of their distinctiveness and their glorious Pharaonic past dating back to 3500 BC... 'We are not Arabs, we are Egyptians,' said tour guide Shayma, who is a devout Muslim."

In late 2007, el-Masri el-Yom daily newspaper conducted an interview at a bus stop in the working-class district of to ask citizens what Arab nationalism (el-qawmeyya el-'arabeyya) represented for them. One Egyptian Muslim youth responded, "Arab nationalism means that the Egyptian Foreign Minister in Jerusalem gets humiliated by the Palestinians, that Arab leaders dance on hearing of Sadat's death, that Egyptians get humiliated in the Arab Gulf States, and of course that Arab countries get to fight Israel until the last Egyptian soldier." Another felt that,"Arab countries hate Egyptians," and that unity with Israel may even be more of a possibility than Arab nationalism, because he believes that Israelis at least respect Egyptians.

Some contemporary prominent Egyptians who oppose Arab nationalism or the idea that Egyptians are Arabs include Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. , popular writer, Egyptian-born Harvard University Professor , Member of Parliament Suzie Greiss , in addition to different local groups and intellectuals. This understanding is also expressed in other contexts, such as Neil DeRosa's novel Joseph's Seed in his depiction of an Egyptian character "who declares that Egyptians are not Arabs and never will be."

Egyptian critics of Arab nationalism contend that it has worked to erode and/or relegate native Egyptian identity by superimposing only one aspect of Egypt's culture. These views and sources for collective identification in the Egyptian state are captured in the words of a linguistic anthropologist who conducted fieldwork in Cairo: Historically, Egyptians have considered themselves as distinct from 'Arabs' and even at present rarely do they make that identification in casual contexts; il-'arab [the Arabs] as used by Egyptians refers mainly to the inhabitants of the Gulf states... Egypt has been both a leader of pan-Arabism and a site of intense resentment towards that ideology. Egyptians had to be made, often forcefully, into "Arabs" [during the Nasser era] because they did not historically identify themselves as such. Egypt was self-consciously a nation not only before pan-Arabism but also before becoming a colony of the British Empire. Its territorial continuity since ancient times, its unique history as exemplified in its pharaonic past and later on its Coptic language and culture, had already made Egypt into a nation for centuries. Egyptians saw themselves, their history, culture and language as specifically Egyptian and not "Arab."

National
Egypt has been a republic since. President has been the  since , following the assassination of former-President. Mubarak is currently serving his fifth term in office. He is the leader of the ruling. Dr. was sworn in as Prime Minister on, following the resignation of Dr. from his office.

Although power is ostensibly organized under a, whereby the executive power is theoretically divided between the President and the , in practice it rests almost solely with the President who traditionally has been elected in single-candidate elections for more than fifty years. Egypt also holds regular multi-party parliamentary elections. The last presidential election, in which Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term,.

In late February 2005, President Mubarak announced in a surprise television broadcast that he had ordered the reform of the country's presidential election law, paving the way for multi-candidate polls in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time since the, the Egyptian people had an apparent chance to elect a leader from a list of various candidates. The President said his initiative came "out of my full conviction of the need to consolidate efforts for more freedom and democracy." However, the new law placed draconian restrictions on the filing for presidential candidacies, designed to prevent well-known candidates such as from standing against Mubarak, and paved the road for his easy re-election victory. Concerns were once again expressed after the 2005 presidential elections about government interference in the election process through fraud and vote-rigging, in addition to police brutality and violence by pro-Mubarak supporters against opposition demonstrators. After the election, Egypt imprisoned Nour, and the U.S. Government stated the “conviction of Mr. Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.”

As a result, most Egyptians are skeptical about the process of and the role of the elections. Less than 25 percent of the country's 32 million registered voters (out of a population of more than 78 million) turned out for the 2005 elections. A proposed change to the constitution would limit the president to two seven-year terms in office.

Thirty-four constitutional changes voted on by parliament on, prohibit parties from using religion as a basis for political activity; allow the drafting of a new anti-terrorism law to replace the emergency legislation in place since 1981, giving police wide powers of arrest and surveillance; give the president power to dissolve parliament; and end judicial monitoring of election. As opposition members of parliament withdrew from voting on the proposed changes, it was expected that the referendum will be boycotted by a great number of Egyptians in protest of what has been considered a breach of democratic practices. Eventually it was reported that only 27% of the registered voters went to the polling stations under heavy police presence and tight political control of the ruling National Democratic Party. It was officially announced on March 27,2007 that 75.9% of those who participated in the referendum approved of the constitutional amendments introduced by President Mubarak and was endorsed by opposition free parliament, thus allowing the introduction of laws that curbs the activity of certain opposition elements particularly Islamists.

Human rights
Several local and international human rights organizations, including and, have for many years criticized Egypt's human rights record as poor. In 2005, President faced unprecedented public criticism when he clamped down on  challenging his rule. Some of the most serious human rights violations according to HRW's 2006 report on Egypt are routine torture, arbitrary detentions and trials before military and state security courts.

Discriminatory personal status laws governing marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance which put women at a disadvantage have also been cited. Laws concerning s which place restrictions on church building and open worship have been recently eased, but major constructions still require governmental approval and persecution of by underground radical groups remains a problem. In addition, intolerance of Baha'is and unorthodox Muslim sects remains a problem.

In 2005, the rated  in Egypt as "6" (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free rating),  as "5" and gave it the freedom rating of "Not Free." It however noted that "Egypt witnessed its most transparent and competitive presidential and legislative elections in more than half a century and an increasingly unbridled public debate on the country's political future in 2005."

In 2007, human rights group released a report criticizing Egypt for  and illegal detention. The report alleges that Egypt has become an international center for torture, where other nations send suspects for interrogation, often as part of the. The report calls on Egypt to bring its anti-terrorism laws into accordance with international human rights statutes and on other nations to stop sending their detainees to Egypt. Egypt's foreign ministry quickly issued a rebuttal to this report, claiming that it was inaccurate and unfair, as well as causing deep offense to the Egyptian government.

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) is one of the longest-standing bodies for the defence of human rights in Egypt. In 2003, the government established the National Council for Human Rights, headquartered in Cairo and headed by former UN Secretary-General who directly reports to the president. The council has come under heavy criticism by local NGO activists, who contend it undermines human rights work in Egypt by serving as a propaganda tool for the government to excuse its violations and to provide legitimacy to repressive laws such as the recently renewed Emergency Law. Egypt has recently announced that it is in the process of abolishing the Emergency Law. However, in March 2007 President Mubarak approved several constitutional amendments to include "an anti-terrorism clause that appears to enshrine sweeping police powers of arrest and surveillance", suggesting that the Emergency Law is here to stay for the long haul.

The high court of Egypt has outlawed all religions and belief except Islam, Christianity and Judaism. (For more information see .)

Foreign relations
Egypt's foreign policy operates along moderate lines. Factors such as population size, historical events, military strength, diplomatic expertise and a strategic geographical position give Egypt extensive political influence in and the. has been a crossroads of regional commerce and culture for centuries, and its intellectual and ic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development.

The permanent are located in  and the  has traditionally been an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister is the current Secretary General. The Arab League briefly moved from Egypt to Tunis in 1978, as a protest to the signing by Egypt of a peace treaty with Israel, but returned in 1989.

Egypt was the first Arab state to establish diplomatic relations with, with the signing of the in 1979. Egypt has a major influence amongst other Arab states, and has historically played an important role as a mediator in resolving disputes between various Arab states, and in the. Most Arab states still give credence to Egypt playing that role, though its effects are often limited and recently challenged by and oil rich. It is also reported that due to Egypt's indulgence in internal problems and its reluctance to play a positive role in regional matters had lost the country great influence in Africa and the neighbouring countries.

Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister served as Secretary General of the  from 1991 to 1996.

Governorates


Egypt is divided into twenty-six s (muhafazat, singular ). The governorates are further divided into regions (es).

Economy
Egypt's economy depends mainly on agriculture, media, petroleum exports, and tourism; there are also more than three million Egyptians working abroad, mainly in, the and Europe. The completion of the in 1971 and the resultant  have altered the time-honored place of the Nile River in the  and ecology of Egypt. A rapidly-growing population, limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress the economy.

The government has struggled to prepare the economy for the new millennium through economic reform and massive investments in communications and physical infrastructure. Egypt has been receiving U.S.  (since 1979, an average of $2.2 billion per year) and is the third-largest recipient of such funds from the United States following the Iraq war. Its main revenues however come from tourism as well as traffic that goes through the.

Egypt has a developed energy market based on coal, oil, natural gas, and hydro power. Substantial coal deposits are in the north-east Sinai, and are mined at the rate of about 600,000t per year. Oil and gas are produced in the western desert regions, the Gulf of Suez, and the Nile Delta. Egypt has huge reserves of gas, estimated at over 1.1 million cubic meters in the 1990s, and LNG is exported to many countries.

Economic conditions have started to improve considerably after a period of stagnation from the adoption of more liberal economic policies by the government, as well as increased revenues from tourism and a booming stock market. In its annual report, the has rated Egypt as one of the top countries in the world undertaking economic reforms. Some major economic reforms taken by the new government since 2003 include a dramatic slashing of customs and tariffs. A new taxation law implemented in 2005 decreased corporate taxes from 40% to the current 20%, resulting in a stated 100% increase in tax revenue by the year 2006.

FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into Egypt has increased considerably in the past few years due to the recent economic liberalization measures taken by minister of investment Mahmoud Mohieddin, exceeding $6 billion in 2006. Egypt is slated to overcome South Africa as the highest earner of FDI on the African continent in 2007.

Although one of the main obstacles still facing the Egyptian economy is the trickle down of the wealth to the average population, many Egyptians criticize their government for higher prices of basic goods while their standards of living or purchasing power remains relatively stagnant. Often corruption is blamed by Egyptians as the main impediment to feeling the benefits of the newly attained wealth. Major reconstruction of the country's infrastructure is promised by the government, with a large portion of the sum paid for the newly acquired 3rd mobile license ($3 billion) by Etisalat. This is slated to be pumped into the country's railroad system, in response to public outrage against the government for disasters in 2006 that claimed more than 100 lives.

The best known examples of Egyptian companies that have expanded regionally and globally are the and. The IT sector has been expanding rapidly in the past few years, with many new start-ups conducting outsourcing business to North America and Europe, operating with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle and other major corporations, as well as numerous SME's. Some of these companies are the Xceed Contact Center, Raya Contact Center, E Group Connections and C3 along with other start ups in that country. The sector has been stimulated by new Egyptian entrepreneurs trying to capitalize on their country's huge potential in the sector, as well as constant government encouragement.

Demographics


Egypt is the most populous country in the and the second-most populous on the, with an estimated 78 million people. Almost all the population is concentrated along the banks of the Nile (notably Cairo and Alexandria), in the Delta and near the Suez Canal. Approximately 90% of the population adheres to and most of the remainder to Christianity (primarily the  denomination). Apart from religious affiliation, Egyptians can be divided demographically into those who live in the major urban centers and the in or farmers of rural villages. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population due to and massive increase in agricultural productivity. made by the.

are by far the largest ethnic group in Egypt at 94% (about 72.5 million) of the total population. Ethnic minorities include the Arab tribes living in the eastern deserts and the, the -speaking   of the , and the ancient  communities clustered along the Nile. There are also interspersed communities of concentrated in the south-eastern-most corner of the country, and a number of  clans mostly in the Nile Delta and  who are progressively becoming assimilated as urbanization increases.

Egypt also hosts an unknown number of and asylum seekers. According to the 's 2004 Human Development Report, there were 89,000 refugees in the country, though this number may be an underestimate. There are some 70,000 s, and about 150,000 recently arrived, but the number of the largest group, the , is contested. The once-vibrant has virtually, with only a small number remaining in the country, but many Egyptian Jews visit on religious occasions and for tourism. Several important Jewish archaeological and historical sites are found in, and other cities.

Religion


Religion plays a central role in most Egyptians' lives. The 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 s and church towers. This religious landscape has been marred by a record of religious extremism. Most recently, a   judgment of the  of Egypt 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. This judgment has led to the requirement for communities to either commit perjury or be subjected to.

Egypt is predominantly Muslim, at 80-90% of the population, with the majority being adherents of the branch of Islam A significant number of Muslim Egyptians also follow native , and a minority of. Christians represent 10-20% of the population, more than 95% of whom belong to the native. Other native Egyptian Christians are adherents of the, the and various Coptic  denominations. Non-native communities are largely found in the urban regions of  and, and are members of the , the , the , the , the , the , the , the , the , or the. According to the, any new legislation must at least implicitly agree with. The mainstream school of  Islam is largely organised by the state, through Wizaret Al-Awkaf (Ministry of Religious Affairs). Al-Awkaf controls all mosques and overviews Muslim clerics. are trained in Imam vocational schools and at. The department supports Sunni Islam and has commissions authorised to give  judgements on Islamic issues.

Egypt hosts two major religious institutions. (Arabic: جامعة الأزهر) is the oldest ic institution of higher studies (founded around 970 ) and considered by many to be the oldest extant university. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, headed by the, attests to Egypt's strong Christian heritage. It has a following of approximately 15 million s worldwide; affiliated sister churches are located in, , , , and.

Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by extremist groups and by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Being the largest religious minority in Egypt, Coptic Christians are the most negatively affected community. s have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 led by. Until recently, were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new or repairing existing churches. These obstacles are not found in building mosques.

In addition, Copts complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion. The Coptic community, as well as several human rights activists and intellectuals (such as and Tarek Heggy), maintain that the number of Christians occupying government posts is not proportional to the number of Copts in Egypt, who constitute between 10 and 15% of the population in Egypt. Of the 32, two are Copts: Finance Minister and Minister of Environment Magued George; and of the 25 local governors, only one is a Copt (in the ian governorate of ). However, Copts have demonstrated great success in Egypt's private business sector;, an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's wealthiest 100 people is a Copt. In 2002, under the government, Coptic  (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. Nevertheless, the Coptic community has occasionally been the target of hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks, in which 21 Copts and one Muslim were killed. A 2006 attack on three churches in left one dead and 17 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation.

Egypt was once home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. , who were mostly, partook of all aspects of Egypt's social, economic and political life; one of the most ardent Egyptian nationalists, ' (Abu Naddara), was a Jew, as were famous musician Dawoud Husni, popular singer , and prominent filmmaker Togo Mizrahi. For a while, Jews from across the and Europe were attracted to Egypt due to the relative harmony that characterized the local religious landscape in the 19th and early 20th centuries. After the 1956, a great number of Jews were expelled by , many of whom holding official Egyptian citizenship. Their Egyptian citizenship was revoked and their property was confiscated. A steady stream of migration of Egyptian Jews followed, reaching a peak after the with Israel in 1967. Today, Jews in Egypt number less than 500.

in Egypt, whose population is estimated to be a couple of thousands, have long been, having their institutions and community activities banned. Since their faith is not officially recognized by the state, they are also not allowed to use it on their national (conversely, Islam, Christianity, & Judaism are officially recognized); hence most of them do not hold national identity cards. In April 2006 a court case recognized the Bahá'í Faith, but the government appealed the court decision and succeeded in having it suspended on 15 May. On, , only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the Bahá'ís, stating that the government may not recognize the Bahá'í Faith in official identification documents.

There are Egyptians who identify as and, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction on the basis of apostasy (if a citizen takes the step of suing the 'apostating' person, though not automatically by the general prosecutor). In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam in four of his books.

While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents. The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from to  (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. Recently, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam.

Culture


has five thousand years of recorded history. was among the earliest s and for millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture that influenced later cultures of Europe, the and Africa. After the Pharaonic era, Egypt itself came under the influence of, , and ic culture. Today, many aspects of Egypt's ancient culture exist in interaction with newer elements, including the influence of modern, itself with roots in ancient Egypt.

Egypt's capital city, Cairo, is Africa's largest city and has been renowned for centuries as a center of learning, culture and commerce. Egypt has the highest number of in Africa and the Arab World. Some Egyptian born politicians were or are currently at the helm of major international organizations like of the  and  of the.

Renaissance
The work of early nineteenth-century scholar Rifa'a et-Tahtawi gave rise to the Egyptian Renaissance, marking the transition from to  Egypt. His work renewed interest in and exposed Egyptian society to  principles. Tahtawi co-founded with education reformer a native  school that looked for inspiration to medieval Egyptian scholars, such as  and, who themselves studied the ,  and  of Egypt. Egypt's renaissance peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the work of people like, Ahmed Lutfi el-Sayed, , , and. They forged a path for Egypt expressed as a commitment to individual freedom,  and faith in science to bring progress.

Arts
The Egyptians were one of the first major civilizations to codify design elements in art. The wall paintings done in the service of the s followed a rigid code of visual rules and meanings. Modern and contemporary Egyptian art can be as diverse as any works in the world art scene. The serves as the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Egypt's media and arts industry has flourished since the late nineteenth century, today with more than thirty satellite channels and over one hundred motion pictures produced each year. Cairo has long been known as the "Hollywood of the Middle East;" its annual film festival, the, has been rated as one of 11 festivals with a top class rating worldwide by the International Federation of Film Producers' Associations. To bolster its media industry further, especially with the keen competition from the and, a large media city was built. Some Egyptian actors, like, have achieved worldwide fame.

Literature
constitutes an important cultural element in the life of Egypt. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Arabic literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated throughout the Middle East. The first modern Egyptian novel  by was published in 1913 in the. Egyptian novelist was the first Arabic-language writer to win the. Egyptian women writers include, well known for her , and  who also writes about women and tradition. Vernacular poetry is perhaps the most popular literary genre amongst Egyptians, represented by such luminaries as Ahmed Fuad Nigm (Fagumi), and.

Music


is a rich mixture of indigenous, Mediterranean, African and Western elements. In, Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, including two indigenous instruments: the and the. and vocal music also became an important part of the local music tradition ever since. Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of people such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who influenced the later work of Egyptian music giants such as, , and. These prominent artists were followed later by. He is seen by many as the new age "Musical Legend", whose fan base stretches all over the Middle East and Europe. From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, while Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other festivities.

Festivals
Egypt is famous for its many festivals and religious carnivals, also known as mulids or. They are usually associated with a particular Coptic or Sufi saint, but are often celebrated by all Egyptians irrespective of creed or religion. has a special flavor in Egypt, celebrated with sounds, lights (local lanterns known as fawanees) and much flare that many Muslim tourists from the region flock to Egypt during Ramadan to witness the spectacle. The ancient spring festival of (:  shom en nisim) has been celebrated by Egyptians for thousands of years, typically between the  of  (April) and  (May), following  Sunday.

Sports
is the de facto of Egypt. Egyptian Soccer clubs and  are the two most popular teams and enjoy the reputation of long-time regional champions. The great rivalries keep the streets of Egypt energized as people fill the streets when their favourite team wins. Egypt is rich in soccer history as soccer has been around for over 100 years. The country is home to many African championships such as the African Cup of Nations. However, Egypt's national team has not been qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1990.

and are other favourite sports. The Egyptian squash team has been known for its fierce competition in international championships since the 1930s.

Military
The have a combined troop strength of around 450,000 active personnel. According to the Israeli chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee,, the has roughly the same number of modern warplanes as the  and far more Western tanks, artillery, anti-aircraft batteries and warships than the. The Egyptian military has recently undergone massive military modernization mostly in their Air Force. Other than Israel, Egypt is the first country in the region with a, , and is planning to launch 3 more spy satellites (DesertSat1, EgyptSat2, DesertSat2) over the next two years.

Geography


At 386,636 (1,001,450  ), Egypt is the world's thirtieth-largest country (after ). It is comparable in size to, twice the size of , four times the size of the , and is more than half the size of the US state of.

Nevertheless, due to the aridity of Egypt's climate, population centres are concentrated along the narrow Nile Valley and Delta, meaning that approximately 99% of the population uses only about 5.5% of the total land area.

Egypt is bordered by to the west,  to the south, and by the  and  to the east. Egypt's important role in geopolitics stems from its strategic position: a, it possesses a land bridge (the Isthmus of Suez) between and , which in turn is traversed by a navigable waterway (the ) that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the  via the.

Apart from the Nile Valley, the majority of Egypt's landscape is a sandy desert. The winds blowing can create sand dunes over one hundred feet high. Egypt includes parts of the and of the. These deserts were referred to as the "red land" in ancient Egypt, and they protected the Kingdom of the Pharaohs from western threats.

Towns and cities include, one of the greatest ancient cities, , , , the modern Egyptian capital, , , the site of the Pyramid of Khufu, , , , , , , , where the Suez Canal is located, , and. include, , , and.

include Ras Mohamed National Park, Zaranik Protectorate and Siwa. See for more information.

Climate
Egypt receives the least fall in the. of, rainfall s only around 2 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 ) per year and at intervals of many s. On a very thin strip of the northern coast the rainfall can be as high as 170 mm (7 in), all between November and March. falls on Sinai's s and some of its middle and.

Temperatures average between 80 and 90 °F (27 - 32 °C) in summer, and up to 109 °F (42 °C) on the. Temperatures average between 55 and 70 °F (13 to 21 °C) in winter. A steady from the northwest helps hold down the temperature near the. The is a  that blows from the south in Egypt, usually in spring or summer, bringing sand and dust, and sometimes raises the temperature in the  to more than 100 °F (38 °C).

Notes and references
General references