Saving faith
拯救信仰
Islam ems to be fading as a revolutionary force
革命力量伊斯兰日渐式微
EDWARD LANE, an English orientalist, published a classic account of Egyptian society in the 1830s. Impresd with much el, he had this to say about religion in Egypt: “It is considered the highest honour among the Muslims to be religious; but the desire to appear so leads many into hypocrisy and pharisaical ostentation.”
来自英国的爱德华•雷恩是个东方通，他在19世纪30年代发表了详述埃及社会的作品，堪称经典。他对埃及社会诸多事物都感触颇深，但对其宗教，雷恩却作出 如下言论：“在伊斯兰世界中，虔诚便是最高荣誉。然而，越是想要表现得虔诚，就有越多的人走入虚伪夸饰的误区。”
The same obrvation might be made today. A generation ago it was rare to hear the Koran recited, except on formal occasions such as funerals or during the fasting month of Ramadan. Nowadays the word of God is a constant companion, wafting from taxi cabs and bus, barber’s shops and fast-food outlets, dental clinics and supermarkets. The call to prayer not only sounds five times daily from minarets but all the time from everywhere: millions of Egyptians have downloaded it as a ringtone for their mobile phon
es. Step into many shops at noon and you will be told to return after prayers. Call in to the main control room of Egyptian State Railways and you may find the chief operator similarly dingaged, as one panicked signalman did last year when a train stalled on the tracks. He was unable to prevent the next train from crashing into the first, killing 18 people and prompting the resignation of Egypt’s transport minister.
现在，对于埃及的宗教，人们或许会得出相同的结论。30年前，除了葬礼或是斋月这类的正式场合，很少会听到有人诵读古兰经。而今，上帝的圣言却常伴左右： 从出租车公交车里，从理发店快餐店内，从牙科诊所超级市场中，飘忽而出。曾经每天5次从宣礼塔中传出的唤礼辞如今时时刻刻响在大街小巷：因为有成千上百万 的埃及人把唤礼辞当成手机铃声。赶着中午踏进商店，你会被要求在祷告结束后再来；造访埃及国家铁路的主控室，你会发现主控员也如此不务正业。这和去年那个 面对半路“抛锚”的火车而惊慌失措的信号工有的一比。当时，那个信号工没能及时通知随后的一辆火车，导致辆车相撞，18人死亡，埃及运输部长即刻辞职。
Tune to one of 400 Arabic-language channels carried by Nilesat, a satellite owned by the
Egyptian government, and the chances are you will come across a bearded sheikh, such as one who recently berated youths for knowing the names of more football players than of the prophet Muhammad’s companions. Millions of Egyptians thrilled by the World Cup clearly ignore such advice. But plenty obrve it in spirit: a sample of 10-29-year-olds questioned in a national survey claimed they spent an average of 40 minutes on religious devotions every day. That makes 243 hours a year, or more than a full year in an average lifetime. And that leaves out other devotions, such as fasting in Ramadan, or the pilgrimages to Mecca which draw nearly 700,000 Egyptians a year.
将调频在埃及卫星公司（埃及国有）400多个阿拉伯语频道中转换，总是会碰到蓄着胡子的酋长，和那个最近谴责年轻人们知道更多的足球明星却叫不出几个穆罕 默德先知名字的人一个样。上百万的埃及人为世界杯疯狂着，他们明显将这条教诲置之不理了。但许多人从本质上看待它：一次全国调查显示10到29岁人群每天 献给宗教的时间平均为40分钟。一年就是243个小时，一生就是365天以上。而这其中还不包括其他时间，比如斋月的斋戒，或者每年吸引近70万埃及人的 朝圣。
What goes for Islam also goes for the Coptic Orthodox church, who 7m or so Egyptian adherents make up the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Its rvices are packed and the number of novices in dozens of Coptic monasteries is at record levels. Well-funded by rich patrons, the Coptic church remains extremely conrvative. Pope Shenouda III, its patriarch since 1971, makes the Catholic one look like Dr Phil, a TV psychologist. Not content to ban divorce, his church will not condone a cond marriage for anyone who might actually have managed to get out of the first one.
同样的，科普特正教也遭遇和伊斯兰教相同的境况。埃及的科普特正教信徒有大约七百万，是中东最大的基督教团体，其礼拜仪式举不胜举，几十家科普特修道院的 新信徒数量也令人咂舌。科普特正教的资助人财力雄厚，资金充足，季度保守。教皇施诺达三世1971年成为科普特主教后，使得天主教教皇就像是常出现在电视 里的那个知心叔叔菲尔博士。光是禁止离婚还不够，科普特教会还认为确实解除了前次婚姻而再婚的人是不可原谅的。
Turning to higher things
变本加厉
The current generation of Egyptians is living through a full-scale religious revival. Scholars ascribe the trend to many caus. Some say the shock of defeat in the 1967 war prompted a return to older traditions. Others speculate that rapid population growth and rural migration overwhelmed the cular-minded urban elite of the 1960s. Yet others point to the return of Egyptian workers from rich Arab Gulf countries, having acquired their conrvative mores. And there is the influence of world events, with the never-ending plight of the Palestinians, plus Western incursions into other Muslim lands, rving to reinforce attachment to a faith that is en as under threat.
