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Western media has consistently focused on the extremes of Islam, overlooking a quiet yet pervasive moderate religious movement that is currently transforming the nation of Egypt. Drawing on hundreds of interviews, No God But God opens up previously inaccessible segments of Egyptian society to illustrate the deep penetration of "Popular Islamic" influence. Geneive Abdo provides a firsthand account of this movement, allowing its leaders, street preachers, scholars, doctors, lawyers, men and women of all social classes to speak for themselves. Challenging Western stereotypes, she finds that this growing number of Islamists do not seek the violent overthrow of the government or a return to a medieval age. Instead, they believe their religious values are compatible with the demands of the modern world. They are working within and beyond the secular framework of the nation to gradually create a new society based on Islamic principles.Both fascinating and unsettling, Abdo's findings identify a grassroots model for transforming a secular nation-state to an Islamic social order that will likely inspire other Muslim nations.
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NO GOD
But God
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NO GOD
But God EGYPT AND THE TRIUMPH OF ISLAM
Geneive Abdo
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXTORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto and an associated company in Berlin
Copyright © 2000 by Geneive Abdo First published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 2000 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2002 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication maybe reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-m-Publication Data Abdo, Geneive, 1960No God but God: Egypt and the triumph of Islam / Geneive Abdo. p. cm. Includes bibliographic references and index. ISBN 0-19-512540-1 (cloth) ISBN 0-19-515793-1 (pbk.) 1. Islam—Egypt--History— 20th century 2. Islam and state—Egypt—20th century 3. Islam and politics—Egypt—20th century 4. Egypt—Politics and government—1981— I. Title. BP64.E3 A25 2000 297'.0962'09049-dc21 99-058415
1 3 5 7 9 1 08 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
FOR JONATHAN
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CONTENTS
i
Acknowledgments Note on Transliteration
ix xi
The New Face of Islam
3
2 3
Streets of Green
19
The Fount of Islam
41
The Professionals
71
4 5
School of Revolution 6
107
Taking the Veil
139
7 Court of Public Opinion
163
8
To Iran and Back Again
187
Notes Selected Bibliography Index
201 209 215
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The religious transformation of Egyptian society appeared obvious to me shortly after I stepped out into the Cairo breeze one December evening in 1993. Convincing the publishing industry in the United States of the great importance of this process, however, was difficult. Only when I met Professor John Esposito of Georgetown University did I finally feel an influential ear was listening. Over a cup of coffee in a hotel restaurant in Amman, Jordan, he returned to me the hope I had lost. This book would never have