Religion and Politics
A careful distinction must be made between Islamic and
Islamists. Most Egyptians are Muslims who lead an Islamic way
of life. They observe the five pillars of the faith, practice acts
of kindness, and generally are tolerant of other faiths. But they
also believe that the country and society should be organized
along secular, rather than religious, lines. There are a small
number of Muslims within Egypt who are Islamists. Their slo-
gan is “Islam is the answer,” meaning that all of the country’s