Writing the History of the Modern Copts: From Victims and Symbols to Actors
Author: Paul Sedra
Publisher/Publication: History Compass
Volume/Issue: 7(3)
DOI/ISBN: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2009.00607.x
The aim of this article is to analyze the relationship between the Coptic Church and the Coptic lay elite with regards to the status of the Coptic community in the eyes of the state and the rest of the Egyptian population. While the author strives to examine the special relationship of the Coptic Church with the Egyptian heads of state, the focus of the article rests on the relations between laymen and the Coptic Church representatives. The failure to compromise on a shared political stance has rendered the possibility of a united front unfeasable and has jetissioned for a time the promotion of a discourse aimed at upgrading the status of the Copts in Egyptian society to equal citizenship due to the relience on their religious characteristics.
