ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that some of the ways in which Islam is represented in contemporary Egyptian society. Since 1970, the public presence and influence of Islamic symbols and discourse has grown considerably, to the extent that public space and public life are permeated by them. The quotations at the beginning of this chapter illustrate some of the ways in which Islam influences the lives of people in contemporary Egypt: in their style of dress, in the health and social services on which many of them rely and in the law that governs their lives. A coincidence of Islamization and modernization is the opposite to the general direction of social change predicted by the secularization thesis. In spite of some Islamization measures under Sadat, it is only under Mubarak that an Islamist agenda has become part of the political mainstream. Islamization is not restricted to the political sphere, but also affects much of social and cultural life.
