From the pharaohs to Al-Azhar, a civilisation that became a pillar of Islamic learning.
Egypt is home to Al-Azhar, one of the oldest universities in the world and the most respected seat of Sunni learning, founded in 970 CE. The country is a cultural giant of the Arab and Muslim world, producing its literature, cinema, scholarship and most recognisable voice, the recitation of the Quran.
Founder of a school of law
One of the four great imams of Sunni jurisprudence; buried in Cairo.
Country
Egypt
Muslims
Over 95 million Muslims
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Roughly 90% of the population
Landmark
The Pyramids of Giza
Islam reached Egypt in 640 CE, and Cairo was founded as a Muslim capital in 969. Al-Azhar University, founded the next year, became the intellectual heart of Sunni Islam. Egypt produced scholars like Imam Al-Shafi'i, thinkers, writers and reformers who shaped Islamic thought for centuries. Modern Egypt remains a cultural and religious centre of the Arab world.
View statistical sourceWhen Islam reached Egypt, it did not erase the Coptic Christian community, it lived alongside it, as it still does today. The Egyptians embraced Islam because it answered the deepest questions a civilisation can ask: who made this world, and what does He ask of us? The answer, worship one God, be just, remember the meeting with your Lord, was the original message of all the prophets, and Egypt recognised it as its own. From the banks of the Nile, the call to prayer has sounded for over a thousand years without interruption.
"We have sent you but as a mercy to all the worlds." — Qur'an 21:107
Positive contribution
Muslims in Egypt contribute to the whole society — in service, scholarship, sport and charity.
Al-Azhar University, founded in 970 CE, is the oldest continuously operating university and a global centre of Sunni learning.
Egypt produced the most widely recognised style of Quran recitation, and its reciters are imitated in mosques across the world.
Egypt is the centre of Arabic literature, journalism and cinema, shaping culture across the Arab world for a century.
The Suez Canal, managed by Egypt, is one of the world's most important trade routes, linking East and West.
Different languages, different cultures, one message. Explore more countries or read the Qur'an for yourself.
