Essay On Egypt Religion

Egypt became a prosperous, unified country despite intermittent periods of turmoil and disarray (Sources of the Making of the West, 26). Polytheism, or the worship of multiple Gods, was practiced throughout Egypt. Much of Egypt's wealth was due to its proximity to the Nile; Moreover, the prosperity of the Egyptians led to a belief that Egyptian Gods were benevolent. Additionally, the afterlife was a strong foundation of Egyptian religion and mummification was a common practice for the elite. The Pharaoh himself was considered a divinity by the people, and upon the Pharaoh's death, his or her body would be mummified.

Within Egypt was a group of people known as the Hebrews. Originally, these nomadic people came from Ur travelling west, and were led by Abram. The Hebrews were monotheistic, meaning they worshipped one God. Consequently, this monotheistic practice was what caused conflict between the polytheistic Egyptians and the Hebrews and ultimately led Moses to take the Hebrews out of Egypt. During their exodus, the hebrews were given laws by Yahweh. "The Book of Exodus includes the best known of these laws, the Ten Commandments" (Sources of the Making of the West, 40). The Ten Commandments became the laws by which the Hebrew society lived by.

Islam is monotheistic; they believe in one God named Allah. Islam means submission, and this is central to their belief system, which is apparent in their practice of fasting during the Ramadan. Believing in equality of all and Umma or community, the popularity of Islam rose quickly. Accordingly, the muslim empire's territory expanded with this rapid rise of the Islamic faith; However, due to difference in beliefs caused by the expansion of muslim territory, Islam was also divided into two: the Sunni Muslims, and the Shia Muslims, and are still present in today's