The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the relationship between religion and revolution within the context of Egyptian Islamic culture. The discussion will begin with an investigation into the evolution of revolution as a concept, from its original scientific meaning within the writings of Copernicus to its current political meaning as a radical social break with the past. It will be argued that the revolutionary ideal of escaping fate and rationally constructing the future is the driving force behind the Modern era. Faith in the capacity of humanity for self-redemption could only arise after the scientific discoveries of the Renaissance began to disrupt the static metaphysical universe of the past. The concept of social development then arose in the Enlightenment as a quest for the liberation of reason so as to construct a new society free of myth and mystery. The discussion will then attempt to demonstrate that the culture of Egypt underwent a parallel philosophical development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries due to the importation of modern technology. In order to prove this, the military reforms of Muhammad `Ali will be compared to Hobbe's concept of the Leviathan, the journalism of Muhammad `Abduh will be placed within the traditional Islamic debate concerning the ethical relationship between reason and revelation; the cult of nationalism will be contrasted with s&dotbelow;ufi mysticism; the social project of the Nasser regime will be interpreted in light of Rousseau's conception of the liberal social contract; and the thesis will conclude with a discussion of the thought of Sayyid Qutb in terms of the failure of Modernity to fulfil the promise of the Enlightenment.

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