ABSTRACT
The study of popular religion in Ottoman Egypt, doubtlessly one of the most important aspects of social and cultural life, poses a methodological problem. Contemporary sources-chronicles, Sufi writings, travel reports and others-provide rich and fascinating information, but the fullest and most systematic treatment of the subject is available in later descriptions and studies. The best sources on nineteenth century popular religion and culture in Egypt are E.W.Lane’s Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, and ‛Ali Basha Mubarak’s al-Khitat al-Tawfiqiyya al-jadida, written in the first and the second half of the nineteenth century, respectively. ‛Ali Mubarak’s monumental work in particular is a most valuable source. The author, who was a reformer as well as administrator and educator, was deeply interested in popular religion, and his outlook in this respect was quite traditional. There are also valuable studies on various aspects of popular religion by twentieth century Western and Egyptian scholars.
