Why are secular currents in Egypt losing out?

Abstract

The article analyzes the background of the modern secular movement in Egypt and the causes of its failure. The Author compares the circumstances of the emergence of secular ideas in the Middle East and in Europe and argues that in order for a secular modernization project to be effective, it should be a bottom-up process, based on the cultural specificity of a given country, not imposed by hegemons. He also investigates the mistakes made by elites in the Middle East, who did not develop the cognitive framework necessary to model their own concept of a secular state.