The geography of Egypt relates to two regions: North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Egypt has coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The country borders Libya to the west, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east, and Sudan to the south.

Egypt essentially has a hot desert climate The climate is generally extremely dry all over the country except on the northern Mediterranean coast which receives more rainfall in winter.

In ancient Egypt, religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of society.

It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature.

The 1971 constitution declares Islam to be the state religion.

(Predominantly) 90% of the population are Muslim and 8% to 10% are Christian

Before 1798, almost all of Egypt's educational, legal, public health, and social welfare issues were in the hands of religious functionaries.

Ottoman rule reinforced the public and political roles of the ulama - religious scholars who specialize in the interpretations of the:

Hadith: reports of statements or actions of Muhammad and
Tafseer: explanation and interpretations of the Qur'an.

The original split -- after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, in the year 632.

"Who should lead the Muslim community?"

Sunni-- Most of the Prophet Muhammad's followers wanted the community of Muslims to determine who would succeed him
= 85% and 90%

Shi'ia -- A smaller group thought that someone from his family should succeed
= favored "Ali" who was married to Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah.

Former air force commander became president
= Anwar Sadat's 1981 assassination

Ruled Egypt for almost 30 years until he was swept from power in a wave of "mass protests = part of Arab Spring= Egyptian Revolution" in February 2011

Sadat assassinated
=Islamist militants at a military parade in Cairo, and Mubarak was lucky to escape the shots as he sat next to him.

Positioning himself as a trusted Western ally and fighting off a powerful opposition movement at home

Give the state sweeping powers of arrest and curbing basic freedoms.

The government argued that it was necessary to combat Islamic terrorists
=came in waves during his rule

Mubarak won three elections unopposed since 1981, but for his fourth contest in 2005 - after a firm push from the US - he changed the system to allow rival candidates.

They accused the Egyptian leader of suppressed opposition groups, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood.

Sunni Islamist religious, political, and social movement.

Considered the largest, best-organized political force in Egypt

Founded by Hassan al-Banna, t influenced Islamist movements around the world with its model of political activism combined with Islamic charity work.

The movement initially aimed simply to spread Islamic morals and good works, but soon became involved in politics,

Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was legalized in 2011 when the government of Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.

2012 presidential election when its candidate Mohamed Morsi became Egypt's first democratically elected president.

one year later, on 3 July 2013, Morsi was himself overthrown by the military as a response to civil unrest across the country.