Now most Egyptian Jews of the time were members of the Karaite sect. This was  a 1st-century anti-Pharisee movement who rejected the teachings of the Talmud. It is believed by historians such as Paul Fenton that the Karaites settled in Egypt as early as the 7th century, and Egypt would remain a bastion for Karaites all the way through the 19th century. As time passed in contact with these relatively new Sufi ideas many Karaites began to push towards reform. Admiration for the structure of Hanaqas, Sufi schools, and its doctrinal focus on mysticism begin to make many Egyptian Jews long to adopt something similar.