How Large Is Egypt's Religious "Right"?

[oberliner]

Excerpt:

But what of an upper bound on the vote share for the Egyptian religious right? In a 2008 research article, we examined the attitudes and political preferences of the Egyptian public, using public opinion data collected as part of the World Values Survey. Although Egyptians as a whole consider themselves to be highly religious, there remains a significant amount of variation in individuals' particular political and social beliefs.

Our study identified the absolute most religiously and politically conservative segment of the Egyptian public; a bloc characterized by deep personal piety, support for the confluence of politics and religion, and, quite frequently, a worldview that systematically favors men over women. Why does a preference for patriarchy matter? Scholars of Islamic thought offer some insight here. According to jurist Khalid Abou El Fadl, advocates of the religious right in Egypt and other Muslim-majority countries have "appropriated women's dignity into a symbol of honor for men," believing that the easiest and most effective way to prove one's religious legitimacy is to call for laws that are restrictive of women. As a result, those in Egypt's religious right have increasingly focused their attention on issues of morality, particularly as they pertain to the reputation and chastity of women.

Given this definition of the religious right in Egypt, we estimate that just over 60 percent of Egyptians might fall into this category. Among men, the proportion jumps to 80 percent, versus 45 percent of women. Another 20 percent of Egyptians -- predominantly women -- report beliefs indicating strong religious commitment, but not sharing the patriarchal values associated with the religious right. This leaves just 20 percent of Egyptians who meet conventional definitions of what we might think of as secular.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-blaydes/how-large-is-egypts-relig_b_818045.html

[riderinthestorm]

1. Hamas won the election with something like 70% of the vote

Egypt isn't the Palestinian state of course, but when the people get a chance to vote, crazy shit has been known to occur. Even in the US, the Tea Party movement has made incredible gains running on Guns, gays and gawd - people are pretty damn gullible when it comes to religiously oriented propaganda.

[oberliner]

2. I don't think that is true, is it?

What is your source for that claim?

[riderinthestorm]

3. I just googled it. I was saying the original percentage from memory

But googling gives me a lot of links that Hamas won 76 out of 132 seats which gives them a 58% lead, and certainly the victory. BBC, CBS, and every other major news outlet.

Sorry I was off in my memory but they did win by a very, very large percentage.

[oberliner]

4. They did get a big chunk of seats, but I think the popular vote was closer to 50/50

I wonder how they would do if elections were held today (or soon).