The Copts of Egypt

A 2010 New Year's Eve attack on the Coptic Orthodox Church in the city of Alexandria left 23 dead. A sad event in the midst of feelings of joy to welcome the coming new year 2011, a bomb rocked the front page of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the city of Alexandria when the Copts were holding mass. Muslim extremists suspected to be responsible for these terrible events.

Pondering the events that happened in Egypt, with a deep feeling of grief, raises a lot of memory. Egypt, a country with the Arab-Muslim majority, but in Egypt also has a largest Christian community in the Middle East region. Christians, a minority in Egypt with estimates-amount of 10-12%of the total population of Egypt. Of this amount, the Coptic (which means: The Egyptians) owns 95% of the total number of Christians in Egypt.

Historically, the word Copt is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, Which was, in turn, derived from "Hikaptah", one of the names for Memphis, the first capital of Ancient Egypt. Kaptah means "House of the god Ptah", the god who is highly respected in the era of ancient Egypt. The modern use of the term "Coptic" describes Egyptian Christians. Christianity in Egypt by Saint Mark the Evangelist. According to tradition the Coptic Orthodox Church is the Church of Alexandria Which was established by Saint Mark the Apostle and evangelist in the middle of the 1st century (approximately AD 42). While the relationship between Muslim and Coptic race started from the marriage of Muhammad (Muslim prophet) with a Coptic girl named Maria (Maria al-Qibtiyya or Mary the Copt). Mariya al-Qibti can be regarded as a political gift of a Byzantine governor of Egypt, called al-Muqawqis (which is not completely clear or completely distance of its origin, although some have argued that it was Cyrus, Patriarch of Byzantium in Alexandria). Mary gave birth to a son Muhammad, Ibrahim bin Muhammad. Only one other wife of Muhammad, Khadijah who have died, have given the child. Ibrahim died while still in its infancy.

There is a statement based on the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad which states that "The Copts are the most precious among all the foreigners, the most friendly in his behavior, the best in quality and most familiar in kinship with the Arabs in general and the Quraysh (tribe origin of the Prophet Muhammad) in particular." Likewise, the sayings of the prophet to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (the second caliph): "After my death, God will open Egypt to you. Therefore, carefully guard the Copts in the country because they are also relatives-brothers, and they are in your protection." Saying of Muhammad is presumably a reference to 'Amir ibn al-'Ås, leader of the Arab-Muslim armies conquered Byzantine power in Egypt. In turn, 'Amir ibn al-'Ås provide sufficient warm welcome in Alexandria for the Coptic Church Father who was a native of Benjamin, who had just returned from his flight at the desert monastery of North Egyptian territory. Copts, thus, were allowed to freely practice their religion and were to a large degree autonomous, provided they continued to pay a special tax, called "Gezya”, which qualifies them as "Ahl Zemma" protégés (protected). Individuals who cannot afford to pay this tax were faced with the choice of either converting to Islam or losing their civil right to be "protected", which in some instances meant being killed.

There is a tidal race between Coptic and Muslim governments. All depends on the Muslim leaders who should run the command of the Prophet Muhammad to treat Coptic people well. As the reign of al-Hakim ibn 'Amr Allah (996-975), forcing Christians to leave their religion through coercion (this broke the Qur'an: There is no compulsion in religion). Many churches were destroyed, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem burned. But others, such as during the reign of Ahmad ibn Tulun, al-Mu'izz and al-Zahir, the Coptic get better treatment.

The position of the Copts began to improve early in the 19th century under the stability and tolerance of Muhammad Ali's dynasty. The Coptic community ceased to be regarded by the state as an administrative unit and, by 1855 A.D., the main mark of Copts' inferiority, the "Gezya" tax was lifted under Khedive Sa’id administration, and shortly thereafter Copts started to serve in the Egyptian army. The 1919 A.D. revolution in Egypt, the first grassroots display of Egyptian identity in centuries, stands as a witness to the homogeneity of Egypt's modern society with both its Muslim and Coptic sects. Makram 'Ubayd, a Coptic politician in the era of the Egyptian national movement said: "By my religion I am a Christian, but according to my homeland I am a Muslim." Today, this homogeneity is what keeps the Egyptian society united against the religious intolerance of extremist groups, who occasionally subject the Copts to persecution and terror. As is known, in part late 1970s, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Egyptian schools of which appear to be supported by Khomeini, as a result of the success of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Bearded young men (called Abou Douhun) is widely held racial violence in the young Copts, as well as Ikhwanul Muslimin (Muslim Brotherhood). May the unity of Egypt with Coptic-Muslim elements can be maintained in an equal and harmonious relationship.

READING LIST
- Iris Habib al-Masri, The Story of the Copts, M.E.C.C., Beirut, 1978
- Phillip K. Hitti, The Origins of the Islamic State, Beirut, 1966
- The Coptic Encyclopedia (8 vols.), edited by Aziz Sourial Atiya, MacMillan, New York, 1989, provides a comprehensive coverage of the Coptic church, culture, and history.