Azmi Bishara: Is there a ‘Coptic question’ in Egypt?

Books and Journals

Azmi Bishara: Is there a ‘Coptic question’ in Egypt?

12 December, 2011

Authors

Keywords

Azmi Bishara

General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI). Bishara is a leading Arab researcher and intellectual with numerous books and academic publications on political thought, social theory and philosophy. He was named by Le Nouveau Magazine Littéraire as one of the world’s most influential thinkers. His publications in Arabic include Civil Society: A Critical Study (1996); From the Jewishness of the State to Sharon (2004); On The Arab Question: An Introduction to an Arab Democratic Manifesto (2007); To Be an Arab in Our Times (2009); On Revolution and Susceptibility to Revolution (2012); Religion and Secularism in Historical Context (in 3 vols., 2013, 2015); The Army and Political Power in the Arab Context: Theoretical Problems (2017); The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Daesh): A General Framework and Critical Contribution to Understanding the Phenomenon (2018); What is Populism? (2019) and Democratic Transition and its Problems: Theoretical Lessons from Arab Experiences (2020). Some of these works have become key references within their respective field. His latest publication titled The Question of the State: Philosophy, Theory, and Context (2023).
Bishara’s English publications include Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice (Hurst, 2022); On Salafism: Concepts and Contexts (Stanford University Press, 2022); Sectarianism without Sects (Oxford University Press, 2021), among other writings. His trilogy on the Arab revolutions, published by I.B. Tauris, consists of Understanding Revolutions: Opening Acts in Tunisia (2021); Egypt: Revolution, Failed Transition and Counter-Revolution (2022); and Syria 2011-2013: Revolution and Tyranny before the Mayhem (2023), in which he provides a theoretical analysis in addition to a rich, comprehensive and lucid assessment of the revolutions in three Arab countries: Tunisia, Egypt and Syria.

This booklet examines contemporary Egyptian history in order to address an increasingly crucial issue: is there such a thing as a "Coptic question" in Egypt today? The subject is analyzed in light of persistent feelings of marginalization among a significant section of Egyptian Copts, of the promises of the Egyptian Revolution that erupted on January 25, 2011, and of the hopes to which many Egyptians aspire, especially the re-casting of the relationship between Muslims and Copts in the context of a shared national identity. The author discusses the history of Egyptian Copts since the era of Mohammad Ali, including the evolution of their economic and social conditions. Dr. Bishara also sheds light on legal frameworks and the Copts' personal status issues, as well as their relationship with Salafis given the extremist Salafist discourse that emerged during the events of the Egyptian Revolution, especially regarding fatwas of expiation (takfir). The study reaches the conclusion that Egypt does indeed have a Coptic question, and that this issue must be addressed regardless of the pervasive opinion that the matter stems from a foreign conspiracy and/or clerical isolationism exacerbated by the May 2011 burning of a church in the village of Sul. In any event, the study argues that the key to dealing with this issue is equal citizenship, and that democracy is the appropriate context for this approach.

Contents

Executive summary

Background

- On the Sul incident

- Initial conclusions

Introduction

A. The Copts in Egypt's modern history

B. The background of socio-economic conditions