Religious Strife in Egypt

Why did strife between Muslims and Christians grow so much in Egypt during the early 1970s and continue to the death of Anwar Sadat in 1981? Farah rejects common sense explanations in favor of a Marxist interpretation. She argues that the strife followed the shift from Carnal Abdul Nasser's populist strategy of import-substitution to Sadat's policy of integrating Egypt into the international economic system. The change created great strains, which the ruling elite sought to ease by promoting fundamentalist Islam. The author never allows the possibility that religious motives had something to do with communal strife; for her, it all boils down to economics. This singular interpretation may interest those who study Marxist thinking; but anyone trying to understand modern Egypt should take a pass.