Islam was a religion that was highly respected by those who practiced it. Other religions in Egypt were upheld by those who believed in them and they respected it. However, the other people would perceive the religious people as being extremists of the religion. Those who were religious in most cases were associated with poverty, something that made them move closer to their God by adhering to the teachings of the Quran and the Bible (Aswānī, A., & Davies, H. 2006). The stereotyping of the religious people led to their alienation as they would be rejected due to their beliefs. They were always behind in terms of development due to the discrimination.
It was easy to disqualify someone based on the religion rather than the academic qualification which is the most important thing since one has the knowledge and skills. A good example is depicted when Taha was turned down by the directors on the basis of his social status in the community. Islam is associated with some backwardness in social economic progress. Due to the denial of the natural resources, the religious would always remain poor as their dreams would be shuttered whenever they tried to improve their living standards through searching for jobs.
In the community and learning institutions, there existed the social classes. The affluent one would be in their own class while the underprivileged had theirs as they shared common plights. The poor would be close to God as they would spend most of their time praying to their creator. In Egypt, the religious groups would well associate with each other. They helped each other in times of problems. Sheikh Shakir was of great help to Taha in regaining his dignity back (Aswānī, A., & Davies, H. 2006). The integration of the Muslims in the society provided their only solace, therefore, the urge for them to stay close to each other. The careers of the Muslims were being dictated upon by the affluent people and the government. The rejection they faced put them off in searching of any job in the society.
The religious people especially the Muslims were supposed to be holy. Any immoral thing was not allowed in the religion. When Faith Taha is constantly faced by male attentions and declines it, she is fired from her job. They would be subjected to so much pressure that one day led Faith into temptation of giving in to her new boss’s demands. The freedom she gave to her boss to inappropriately touch her left her with guilt feelings. It depicts that the Muslims valued their dignity and sanctity, attributes that are not common to most of the people.
The Muslim men believed that women were so inferior to them hence deserved the ill treatment they did on them. The religious women would treat their men with respect as the Quran advocated for that. They did not have any say on their men. Faith admits it that she did not enjoy the way men treated their female counterparts (Aswānī, A., & Davies, H. 2006). Due to the restriction the religion had put on them, the women did not have any option other than giving in to their demands. It was normal for the men to blame their women on their misfortunes as the religion was not condemning it. We see Taha pouring his frustration on his wife just because of the discrimination by the board who rejected him to be a police officer.
All the wrong things would be associated with the religion by the Egyptian government. The image of the situation is well portrayed when Taha is accused of being a Jihadist and is arrested without any proper investigation. The police had no evidence in relation to this. The religious groups would face a lot of injustices and due to their humble backgrounds, justice would be denied. We see a lot of torture done by the police in the jail that left Taha with some physical and emotional scars that led to his increase in the urge to revenge. He readily converted the military self-drill group that would aid him in the revenge process (Aswānī, A., & Davies, H. 2006). The Islam is portrayed as a religion that did not embrace forgiveness because; we see the Muslim leaders convincing Taha to dedicate his life into his well-being after which he will take revenge on the police.
Muslims would rather die than convert top other religions. The same case applies to other religions. It was very difficult to lure a Muslim into another religion. Taha dies as a sacrifice for the revenge of the Muslims to the government. The action portrays the extent the believers can get in relation to their religion. They believed that they had to fight till the end without giving up. This attribute is depicted when he went ahead to join the social economic school even after the rejection by the board (Aswānī, A., & Davies, H. 2006). They embraced the value of persistence which was not common in other people.
However, bringing out the perception people especially the government had against the Muslims, it increases awareness of what the religious groups go through. It showed that people would be discriminated barely on their religion and the social status. Everyone is entitled to the rights and freedoms provided in the constitution; giving no one right to infringe on the rights of the other person. The vice should be done away with as it increases a lot of conflict. The development of the country also slows done. Awareness of the rights should be increased to prevent such behavior.
References
Aswānī, A., & Davies, H. T. (2006). The Yacoubian building. New York: Harper Perennial.
