Is preserving one's life to be prioritized over preserving one's religion in what is happening in Egypt regarding the harassment of bearded men, and is it permissible to shave the beard to دفعًا للأذى (ward off harm)?

Religion and the self are among the necessities that all divine laws and intellects have agreed upon preserving. The preservation of religion is, in general, prioritized over others. However, in detail, there are branches that cannot be governed by a single rule, such as the permissibility of uttering a word of disbelief under duress and consuming forbidden things out of necessity. If shaving the beard is due to oppression and aggression, then it falls under the ruling of repelling an aggressor. It is not permissible to shave it except out of a real and certain necessity, and not for a perceived or imaginary harm.