Since Islam entered Egypt in the seventh century; Egypt never had pure civilian rule. It is known that Amr ibn al-Aas did not come to Egypt preaching Islam, but as an invader hoping to seize its wealth. However, religion has been playing a major role in the Egyptian daily life ever since.
We can say that imposing the tribute achieved the goals of the invader at that time. Many Copts decided to convert into Islam to get rid of the jizyah, but the governors decided to make them pay less amount of money in order to keep the taxes.
For decades, extremism varied in Egypt according to the personality of the ruler. The family of Muhammad Ali Pasha put efficiency above religion in recruitment which led his government towards a civil state. Copts under the Egyptian kingdom were allowed to take senior positions in the cabinet.
The revolution of 1952 that overthrew the monarchy brought slogans of the pan-Arab and Islamic pride. The relationship between Abdel Nasser and the Muslim Brotherhood could have led to empower the MB in Egypt, but the disagreement between them prevented that scenario. His hostility to the capitalism led Nasser to support Socialism. Under his rule, Egypt faced political conflicts as he tried to unite Arab countries under his leadership. The wars led by Nasser against Israel led to the collapse of the economy of Egypt that has not yet recovered from it till now.
Sadat came after Nasser, and decided to use the Islamic organizations and described himself as the faithful president before he changed the constitution to impose Islamic Sharia as the main source of legislation. He was assassinated by the same groups after signing the Camp David treaty with Israel.
Mubarak's regime tried to fix the collapsed economy and made balance between the extremists and the Copts who were under attack of the fanatics. His government was overthrown on January 25 revolutions.
The Muslim Brotherhood was getting ready to take over Egypt since their foundation in 1928. Yet, they were able to use the revolution and support of the American Administration to win the presidential elections. They tried to convert Egypt into an Islamic state, which annoyed the people and brought another revolution that was called rebel. Millions of Egyptians demonstrated on June 30, 2013, calling the military to remove the MB from power under the leadership of Minister of Defense Abdel Fattah Sisi. He was elected as the new president, but he preferred to be marked as the faithful president with the support of the Salafis. Egypt has been moving between civil and religious state just like it is bouncing between the 21 century and the 7th century.
