ABSTRACT
This chapter examines social and religious intersections in Egypt in the period immediately preceding, during, and following the revolution of January 2011, providing the context for the ways that religious institutions and bodies participate – and have refrained from participating – in social movements. The particular emphasis here is on interreligious relations between Muslims and Christians. The chapter examines closely the role of institutional religion, and its intersection with the expressions of faith in the public square during the period of revolution and political change. It aims to illustrate engagement in Egypt so as to demonstrate that religious institutional discourse and social movements can and do intersect, often in very positive and productive ways where their interests converge, while at the same time recognizing that political context intersects with and impacts interfaith initiatives very directly. Finally, this chapter also aims to show the multilayered and complex context of analysis, demonstrating that efforts by official government institutions and figures, religious leaders, nongovernmental initiatives, and grassroots actors can intersect, contradict, and even oppose one another.
