【Date】 Sep 12 (Thu), 14:00-15:30

【Venue】 Main Conference Room, 3F, Tobunken

【Speaker】 Emi Goto (Assistant Professor, The University of Tokyo)

【Chair】 Eiji Nagasawa (Professor, The University of Tokyo)

【Title】 Within a “Religious State”: Religion and Politics in Contemporary Egypt Understood through Veiling Cases

【Abstract】

Since 1923, the statement “Islam is the religion of the state” has been included in all Egyptian constitutions. Another sentence, “a/the principles of Islamic law shall be the chief source of legislation,” was added in 1971. Then, what happens if the constitution of a state holds that Islam is the religion of the state and the principles of its law shall be the chief source of legislation?
This paper describes how these principles have been interpreted by reference to several court cases concerning the veil of Muslim women during the period from the latter half of the 1980s to the 2000s. In the end, it will offer a perspective for understanding the ongoing instability of Egypt today.