The article is dedicated to the attitude of Muslim theologians in early Ottoman Egypt (16–17th centuries) towards visible and audible manifestations of Christianity and its sacred space under Islamic rule. The study concerns visual manifestations, such as candles, crosses, palm branches and other symbolic objects in churches or religious festivals and processions. It also deals with auditory symbols, like chanting, sound of wooden clappers, and the ringing of church bells, demarcating Christian sacral time and space. Special attention is paid to the attitude of al-Sha'rānī (d. 1565), one of the biggest Sufi leaders and religious authorities of the period, because his works contain deep perspective on the relations between religious communities and regulation for non-Muslims. The study introduces into scholarly discourse his unique work, preserved in the manuscript that has not been an object of academic research before. This text sheds new light on how al-Sha'rānī raised questions of religious regulation for non-Muslims, balancing between citations, historical precedent and reality. The research is also based on other unpublished manuscripts that have not yet been integrated into academic discourse. These materials provide valuable insights into local practices of restrictions (or sometimes selective acceptation) imposed on Christian religious rites. The article shed the light on two main rhetorical and jurisprudential strategies of Muslim theologians: appeals to the 'Pact of 'Umar' and references to the practices of previous rulers of Egypt. The study demonstrates how religious boundaries were set up and changed in early Ottoman Egypt, revealing the complex relations between officially declared Islamic norms, interpretation of the Sharī'a, and actual social experience in a multiconfessional society.