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While almost all of Egypt's Muslims are Sunni, [38] there are a small number of Shia. (Estimates of their number range from 800,000 [ 39 ] to "at most" three million. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] ) The Syrian civil war has brought on an increase in anti-Shia rhetoric by Sunnis, [ 42 ] [ 43 ] harassment and arrest, [ 44 ] and in at least one case bloodshed.
Shia Islam has a long pedigree in Egypt. The Isma'ili Fatimids came to power in 969 AD in Egypt; they established a new capital called Cairo as the seat of the Fatimid dynasty. Fatimids ruled Egypt for 200 years (969 -1171) and shaped its identity. They also established Al-Azhar University in 970 AD in Cairo. It was originally founded as a ...
The vast majority of Egyptian Muslims are Sunni, with a small Mu'tazila, Shia Twelvers and the Shia Ismaili communities making up the remainder. [65] A significant number of Sunni Egyptians also follow the native Sufi orders In the country. [26] Egypt hosts the most important Sunni institution in the world, Al-Azhar University.
At first the revolution inspired and energized Islamist Muslims (both Shia and Sunni) everywhere, but it was a revolution in a predominantly Shi'i Muslim country, led by Shi'i Muslims, and serious rifts with Sunni Muslims soon developed. The revolution changed the Shia–Sunni power equation in Muslim countries "from Lebanon to India".
Of the total Muslim population, 87–90% are Sunni and 10–13% are Shi'a. Most Shi'as (between 68% and 80%) live in mainly four countries: Iran , Azerbaijan , Bahrain , and Iraq . [ 31 ] Furthermore, there are concentrated Shi'a populations in Lebanon , Russia , China , Pakistan , Bangladesh and 10 sub-Saharan African countries. [ 32 ]
In Ifriqiya, the Sunni Muslims of the cities largely followed the Maliki school or madhhab. The Maliki school had become predominant here during the eighth century at the expense of the Hanafi school, which had generally been favoured by the Aghlabids. [209] In Egypt, the majority of Muslims were Sunni and remained so throughout the Fatimid period.
A wide range of Islamic religious expression existed in Egypt during the early Mamluk era, namely Sunni Islam and its major madhab s (schools of jurisprudence) and different Sufi orders, but also small communities of Ismai'li Shia Muslims, particularly in Upper Egypt.
Although Shias make up 55-60% of Bahraini Muslim population, the ruling absolute monarchy is Sunni. Shias in Bahrain have met oppression for many years, during the 2011 Uprisings, a collaborative effort between Shia and Sunni communities sought to bring about the overthrow of the monarchy. Regrettably, during this period, there were instances ...