Overview

The Copts of Egypt, who consist of 10-15 per cent of the population, have traditionally been viewed as a 'beleaguered and persecuted minority'. Using newly discovered Coptic archival sources Vivian Ibrahim presents a fresh and vivid alternative reading of the community during the twentieth century. Avoiding the established portrayal of a monolithic entity headed by the Coptic Pope, Ibrahim examines the multifaceted dimensions of the Coptic community, assessing Coptic-State relations on one hand and Coptic intra-communal dimensions on the other. Examining the impact of the British Occupation of Egypt on the making of new national identities, she explores the emergence of a new politically active Coptic class; highlighting popular Coptic grassroots mobilisation during the 1919 revolution through the case-study of the Coptic priest Qommus Sergius. She discusses the centrality of the Copt and Wafdist, Makram Ebeid, on constitutional politics, and his role as a whistleblower during the 'Black Book Affair'. Breaking with the portrayal of a defenceless community, Ibrahim also reveals a strong Coptic response to the emergence and threats of Political Islam through the press. She presents and analyses for the first time, the unique satirical 'Ode to the Fezzed Shaykh', aimed at Muslim Brotherhood leader Hassan al-Banna. In 'The Copts of Egypt', Ibrahim also reveals fierce factionalism within the Coptic community in its struggle for modernisation. Examining mass corruption in monasteries and in the run-up to papal election campaigns, she analyses the ways in which the Church used the Egyptian State to bolster its claim to political as well as religious representation over the community. Through the establishment of benevolent and philanthropic societies, Ibrahim argues that Coptic youths were amongst the first to negotiate a role for themselves in post-revolutionary Egypt. Adopting President Nasser's revolutionary rhetoric of tathir, or cleansing, Ibrahim examines how a group of Coptic youths abducted their Pope and forced through their own agenda of religious and political reform. This book will be essential reading for scholars of the Coptic community and Middle East Studies.

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9781780764665

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Reviews

'Vivian Ibrahim writes about the Copts of Egypt with clarity. Her book provides a welcome and eloquent insight into the complexity and controversial dynamics of Egyptian inter-communal relations.' H.E. Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1997) 'This book represents a major departure in the current historiography of modern Egyptian history and is a very significant contribution to the field. Vivian Ibrahim presents a fresh and much needed study on the Coptic community, highlighting the internal division vis-a-vis the process of modernisation. She presents an extraordinary case involving a group of Coptic youths who kidnapped the Coptic Pope, in post-revolutionary Egypt, in order to push their political and religious agenda, clearly showing the necessity to break away from past policies, de facto presenting a new portrayal of what has been often presented as a homogeneous and vulnerable community. The book will be of interest to all scholars of modern Egyptian history and politics but also to those interested in the history of the Copts as a Christian minority in the Middle East.' Roberto Mazza, Assistant Professor of History, Western Illinois University 'This is an important and timely book which challenges the standard portrayal of identity politics in the modern history of Egypt and of the Arab Middle East. By bringing together a multiplicity of Coptic voices, groups and tensions Vivian Ibrahim skillfully deconstructs and questions a number of assumptions on the Copts including the persecuted minority discourse and essentialist representation of the community as a unified religious entity. She does so meticulously through a diligent mining of an impressive range of Arabic and English sources which allow the author to unveil unexplored facets of community state/relations and, most originally, the changing socio-economic, institutional and ideological foundations which underscored the evolution of a fractured Coptic polity. This book is community history at its best, an essential critical read for those interested in Egyptian nation and state building as well as in the history of Middle Eastern Christians.' Nelida Fuccaro, Reader in the Modern History of the Arab Middle East, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London An informative and insightful description of the roots and evolution of modern Coptic identity and how it responded to and, at times, managed to influence the Egyptian state's national narrative. This story gains special importance with the increasing sectarianism in Egypt and political Islam's ascent to power. Tarek Osman, author of Egypt on the Brink.

'Vivian Ibrahim writes about the Copts of Egypt with clarity. Her book provides a welcome and eloquent insight into the complexity and controversial dynamics of Egyptian inter-communal relations.' H.E. Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1997) 'This book represents a major departure in the current historiography of modern Egyptian history and is a very significant contribution to the field. Vivian Ibrahim presents a fresh and much needed study on the Coptic community, highlighting the internal division vis-a-vis the process of modernisation. She presents an extraordinary case involving a group of Coptic youths who kidnapped the Coptic Pope, in post-revolutionary Egypt, in order to push their political and religious agenda, clearly showing the necessity to break away from past policies, de facto presenting a new portrayal of what has been often presented as a homogeneous and vulnerable community. The book will be of interest to all scholars of modern Egyptian history and politics but also to those interested in the history of the Copts as a Christian minority in the Middle East.' Roberto Mazza, Assistant Professor of History, Western Illinois University. 'This is an important and timely book which challenges the standard portrayal of identity politics in the modern history of Egypt and of the Arab Middle East. By bringing together a multiplicity of Coptic voices, groups and tensions Vivian Ibrahim skillfully deconstructs and questions a number of assumptions on the Copts including the persecuted minority discourse and essentialist representation of the community as a unified religious entity. She does so meticulously through a diligent mining of an impressive range of Arabic and English sources which allow the author to unveil unexplored facets of community state/relations and, most originally, the changing socio-economic, institutional and ideological foundations which underscored the evolution of a fractured Coptic polity. This book is community history at its best, an essential critical read for those interested in Egyptian nation and state building as well as in the history of Middle Eastern Christians.'Nelida Fuccaro, Reader in the Modern History of the Arab Middle East, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London

'Vivian Ibrahim writes about the Copts of Egypt with clarity. Her book provides a welcome and eloquent insight into the complexity and controversial dynamics of Egyptian inter-communal relations.' (H.E. Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1997)

'Vivian Ibrahim writes about the Copts of Egypt with clarity. Her book provides a welcome and eloquent insight into the complexity and controversial dynamics of Egyptian inter-communal relations.' H.E. Dr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992-1997) 'This book represents a major departure in the current historiography of modern Egyptian history and is a very significant contribution to the field. Vivian Ibrahim presents a fresh and much needed study on the Coptic community, highlighting the internal division vis-a-vis the process of modernisation. She presents an extraordinary case involving a group of Coptic youths who kidnapped the Coptic Pope, in post-revolutionary Egypt, in order to push their political and religious agenda, clearly showing the necessity to break away from past policies, de facto presenting a new portrayal of what has been often presented as a homogeneous and vulnerable community. The book will be of interest to all scholars of modern Egyptian history and politics but also to those interested in the history of the Copts as a Christian minority in the Middle East.' Roberto Mazza, Assistant Professor of History, Western Illinois University 'This is an important and timely book which challenges the standard portrayal of identity politics in the modern history of Egypt and of the Arab Middle East. By bringing together a multiplicity of Coptic voices, groups and tensions Vivian Ibrahim skillfully deconstructs and questions a number of assumptions on the Copts including the persecuted minority discourse and essentialist representation of the community as a unified religious entity. She does so meticulously through a diligent mining of an impressive range of Arabic and English sources which allow the author to unveil unexplored facets of community state/relations and, most originally, the changing socio-economic, institutional and ideological foundations which underscored the evolution of a fractured Coptic polity. This book is community history at its best, an essential critical read for those interested in Egyptian nation and state building as well as in the history of Middle Eastern Christians.' Nelida Fuccaro, Reader in the Modern History of the Arab Middle East, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London An informative and insightful description of the roots and evolution of modern Coptic identity and how it responded to and, at times, managed to influence the Egyptian state's national narrative. This story gains special importance with the increasing sectarianism in Egypt and political Islam's ascent to power. Tarek Osman, author of Egypt on the Brink.

Author Information

Vivian Ibrahim is Croft Assistant Professor of History and International Relations at the University of Mississippi and a Research Associate for the London Middle East Institute (LMEI). She completed her PhD in the History of the Modern Middle East at SOAS, University of London. She holds degrees from the London School of Economics (LSE) and King's College London (KCL). She is co-editor of Political Leaderships, Nations and Charisma (2012).

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