Mohammad Ali Mosque, Cairo
Religion is a very important aspect of Modern Egyptian History; Egypt is a predominately Muslim country with 94% of the population being Islamic. Islam has been the country's official religion since it was declared a Muslim state in 1980. Egypt was one of the first countries to be occupied by the Islamic Empire in the 7th Century because of it proximity to Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem. This also made it a potential target for the crusaders as they wanted to stop the spread of Islam and they believed if they could conquer Egypt they would be closer to reconquering Jerusalem and Damascus. This resulted in a number of crusades that passed through Egypt, none were successful and Egypt was not part of the lands reconquered by the Christians and remained under Islamic rule. Islam has had a huge impact on Egypt. Today it is one of the largest Muslim states in the world and is home to over 80 million Muslims.