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639
Islamic Invasion
"The conquest of Egypt was part of the Arab/Islamic expansion that began when the Prophet Muhammad died and Arab tribes began to move out of the Arabian Peninsula into Iraq and Syria. Amr ibn al Aas, who led the Arab army into Egypt, was made a military commander by the Prophet himself."
https://www.egypttoursplus.com/arab-conquest-of-egypt/ -
640
Battle at Babylon
Under the command of Amr Ibn Al Aas, 8000-12000 troops attacked the Fortress at Babylon. Conquering the fortress would allow the troops to then move up the Delta to Alexandria. -
641
Victory
After a six-month battle the Fortress was taken over by the Arabs, and the troops advanced to the Alexandria -
641
Invasion at Alexandria
Alexandria was not prepared to fight against the Arabs, the governor would agree to surrender by signing a treaty -
641
The Taxation
"Muslim conquerors habitually gave the people they defeated three alternatives: converting to Islam, retaining their religion with freedom of worship in return for the payment of the poll tax, or war.
In surrendering to the Arab armies, the Byzantines agreed to the second option." The tax is known as, jizya, and applied to Jews and Christians.
https://www.egypttoursplus.com/arab-conquest-of-egypt/ -
641
Fustat
Now under Muslim rule, Amr would move the capital city to Fustat, now modern-day Cairo. Here the first mosque of Egypt was built. -
642
Mosque of Amr
The first mosque to be built in Egypt was built in the middle of Fustat. The mosque still stands today, however, due to reconstruction, it does not contain any original contents. -
700
Conversion to Islam
The conversion from Christianity to Islam from the people of Egypt was slow and non-violent. Muslim rulers would discourage conversion at times, because it would lessen the revenue gained through the jizya tax. The majority of Egypt would not be converted until the 14th century.
https://www.arabamerica.com/the-muslim-conquest-and-islamization-of-egypt/ -
972
Al-Azhar University
Ancient works were translated into Arabic manuscripts. Once the manuscripts were translated, they could be sent out among the Islamic Empire. This flourished in Cairo, and the Al-Azhar University was built. "This was the first university to be created in European and Arab history...al-Azhar became a center of Sunni learning and remains to this day perhaps the greatest single center of Sunni scholarship in the world."
file:///C:/Users/hbrod/Downloads/Hewer%20Text%20in%20full%20(3).PDF -
Egypt Today
"...roughly 85% of the general population of Egypt today practices Islam, and the vast majority of those are Sunni Muslims. A 1971 constitution declared that Islam was the national religion, and it has been the official state religion since 1980." With approximately 5 to 10% remaining to follow Christianity
https://theculturetrip.com/africa/egypt/articles/a-complete-guide-to-the-religions-of-egypt/