ABSTRACT
Following the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, blasphemy law has emerged as a point of controversy in Egypt. This chapter investigates blasphemy law as a locus of struggle over religious orthodoxy within the context of the 2011 revolution. Relying on intertextual analysis of a sample of judicial decisions, we argue that judges and other legal actors play an important role in defining what constitutes blasphemy and how religious transgressions are penalised. Some judges also use the criminal court as a platform to articulate alternative legal discourses. We analyse judicial activism in conjunction with the mobilisation of various actors and institutions competing over the right to authoritatively interpret Islam.
