Egypt: What statistics say about the role of religion in politics and society
Egyptians enjoy some coffee in the morning.
CAIRO: A recently released poll that was originally conducted in June by the Egyptian Cabinet’s Information And Decision Support Center (IDSC) was, to say the least, a very interesting numerical, statistical and sociological exercise. The poll aimed to investigate the attitudes of Egyptians with regards to religion, both on a social and a political level. While some might debate and dispute the sample, its suitability, the research methodology and the overall findings as many normally would, the numbers seem to be neither too shocking nor surprising, at least for me personally.
To begin with, 73% of the sample described the Egyptian society as generally religious. 71% also said that they pray regularly, while 26% said that they only pray intermittently. Interestingly, 76% said that for a person to be of good manners and noble character, he “must” be religious, a clear indication of the prevalence of the belief that good character mainly emanates from religious practice & faith, with implications on the selection of political candidates of course among other things. Of particular interest, however, is the statistic that claimed that 83% of the sample believed that religion is a private matter and that every person should be free to choose his own religion. Conversely, a whopping 76% said they are against removing the religion-specifying section in the national ID card, while 16% said they are for such removal, an issue of thorny debate in recent times.
Socially, 62% of the same sample said they do not have friends of a different religion, with 51% saying that a person’s religion does not affect whether or not they would be a likely friend, and 48% said they would rather their close friends be of the same religion. Furthermore, 87% said they would not mind having a neighbour of a different religion. Of the sample, 69% also said they would not mind buying from a shopkeeper or vendor of a different religion, while 30% were apparently against the idea, another topic that was often discussed in the debate over nature the relations between Muslims and Christians. Moving on, only 38% said they did not see any discrimination between Muslims and Christians in the workplace, and an overwhelming 82% believe that the State does not discriminate between the two major faiths in Egypt.
A very significant 78% believed that there were no problems between Muslims & Christians, while 19% believed there were indeed such problems, and 32% of the sample believing such problems were actually on the rise in the recent period. Interestingly, and I might say not unexpectedly, 50% believed that “foreign entities” were behind such unrest & sectarian violence. But even more interestingly, 43% believed that the previous regime was actually behind the recent incidents of sectarian violence.
Politically, and possibly the most critical section of the poll, 48% believed that religious clerics & guides should not have tried to direct the Egyptian electorate to vote in a particular way on the recent constitutional amendments referendum, while 29% believed it was actually right of them to do so. There was a massive outcry by those who wished to strike down the amendments and write an entirely new constitution all together when some religious clerics called for the affirmation of the amendments by arguing it was in the best interest of Islam, or that it was a religious duty to do so. A further 46% also believed that religious clerics have the right to discuss political issues in general, while 31% were clearly opposed to the idea. Moreover, 65% have insisted that they will not be affected by the preference of religious clerics for a particular presidential or parliamentary candidate.
But here is where it gets even more interesting. 39% said they would possibly vote for religious clerics if they would run for political office. While the number falls under totaling half of the sample, it remains very significant. And with the Parliamentary elections coming, 60% said they would vote for a parliamentary candidate of a different religion, while 37% said that they wouldn’t. Also, quite non-shockingly, 80% of Egyptians “agreed” that laws should crafted and based on the “edicts and texts” of the Quran (I have not seen the question, but I understand it was in the form of “do you agree or not agree”). In addition, 43% agreed that it is okay for a political party to come from a religious background or group, while an ironically equal 43% were totally against the idea, showing a clear line of demarcation between the two equal sides of Egyptian opinion on such political parties as the Muslim Brotherhood’s FJP or the Salafi “Nour” Party. And in line with many other estimates, 35% were supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood, 21% were against the brotherhood, while 25% were neutral. As for the Salafis, 41% believe the stereotypical negative view of Salafis that is prevalent in the media, while 40% did not buy into the stereotype.
Finally, 58% said they would vote for a presidential candidate of a different religion normally if he was the better candidate, while 36% said that they wouldn’t.
There are many ways to interpret these findings, assuming that we choose to believe in their representativeness and significance. For example, it can be easily argued there is somewhat of an equal divide between those of a stronger conservative nature and more of a liberal one, perhaps more accurately describing the latter group as a rather a “less conservative” one instead. It could be said that the findings demonstrate the somewhat famous strong distrust of Egyptians towards foreign entities (major countries, international organisations, etc…) and their “agendas”, as well as a strong distrust of the previous regime and particularly the Ministry of Interior. One could also argue that there is a significant, though not overwhelming, preference for social homogeneity and a certain discomfort towards social diversity.
But one thing no one can ever disagree on, and remains the most essential point of interest, is that these numbers confirm what a long line of formal and informal polls and surveys of varying professionalism have been concluding invariably: the role of religion in shaping the general and socio-political mindset of Egyptians is absolutely central, critical and all-pervading. Any attempt at approaching, affecting or even changing the political ideals and directions of Egyptians that fails to emanate or at least align itself in a manner that does not seem to be in conflict with the core teachings of religion is most likely doomed to failure.
BM
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