In 1923, Egypt wrote its first constitution as a parliamentary monarchy; by 1964 its constitution described it as a socialist republic; today (2014), the constitution simply calls it a democratic republic. The 2014 Constitution embraces all the conflicts of 9 constitutions in 90 years, where an active state imposes 'social and economic justice,' and where freedom allows the individual to demand 'rights' given to each against all (including against the state)--sometimes in the same article in the constitutional text. Meanwhile, the last three constitutions (1971, 2012, 2014) include the famous Shari'a clause (in article 2 consistently, each instance a carbon copy of the others), which asserts the relevance of a religious law of medieval provenance, albeit to be interpreted by the members of the Supreme Constitutional Court. As part of the panel, this presentation links these developments (in 20th century Egyptian law) to the evolution of Shari'a-state relationship since 1700.