ABSTRACT
Public arguments about Islam in Egypt today are shaped by two fundamental structural elements. First, the competition for symbolic power between the Islamist movement and the state has defined Islamic orthodoxy in the public sphere. Second, there is a sharp ideological divide between Islamists and liberal intellectuals. The texts that are the object of study here are all written against this background. It is therefore necessary to state clearly the meaning and contemporary function of the competition for symbolic power, orthodoxy, and the ideological divide between Islamists and liberalists.
