Crossing the Boundaries Between Islam & Christianity in Egypt - An Anthropological Exploration of Conversion

The Consortium for Christian-Muslim Dialogue is delighted to invite you this a public lecture The Zoom link is as follows: duq.zoom.us/j/99307424331.

The lecture will be delivered by Brian Dougherty, a PhD student from Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. Brian Dougherty is an anthropologist who has been researching religion and religious conversion in Cairo, Egypt, focusing on Christian minorities, Christian-Muslim relations, and the interrelationship between belief and choice. He has also researched and engaged with interfaith dialogue organizations in Mandalay, Myanmar, composed of Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and Hindus.

"Egypt is a Muslim majority country (roughly 90%) with an historically significant Christian population (roughly 10%). However, from different experiences of religiosity among different classes, to rise in atheism and conversion between religions, there are more complicated stories happening beneath the surface of these demographics. Based upon ethnographic research with secret converts from Islam to Christianity, this lecture explores the multifaceted lines that make up this religious landscape, questioning how these complex situations can complicate interreligious dialogue. The lecture explores what it means for people to cross those boundaries, and brings examples of those who have done so to explore what that tells us about the nature of religious boundaries,
differences, beliefs, and interreligious relations."