Abstract
This paper argues that Egypt's treatment of the Copts as a minority contributes to their marginalization from society and to the tension between the Muslim and Christian sectors in the country. The paper further argues that the best method of eliminating this tension and bringing the Copt population back into the mainstream Egyptian society is for the Egyptian government to stop treating the Copts as though they are a minority and as though they are distinct from the rest of society because of their different religion. Paper includes an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper
"Few countries have a history as old as Egypt and no country has maintained its borders and its territory over the centuries as has Egypt. The country has survived invasions and occupations that are almost too numerous to count. Over the past three thousand years, it has been invaded and occupied by the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the French and the British. Despite this, Egypt has survived and, as a country, has never experienced division of its territory. According to Bhikhu Parekh, Political Science professor at Hull University in Great Britain, the reason why countries survive or break up goes down to the relationship between the people of that country. Countries whose different ethnic, religious or racial groups share a common identity and identify themselves as one people, survive, as compared to countries whose different groups have no sense of common identity (Parekh). To a great extent, Egypt has survived despite invasions and occupations and even in spite of time because the Egyptian people have always had a sense of unity and common identity. As mentioned in "The History of the Copts", published on a Copt website, "the Copts in the 19th and early 20th century worked together with their Muslim compatriots to achieve independence and democracy in Egypt. They participated in the revolt of 1919 against the British rule after WWI." That is the country's two main religious groups, the Copts and the Moslems, stood with one another against invaders and even against corrupt rulers. In fact, before the 1952 revolution, Egypt whose population is approximately ninety percent Moslem had three Coptic Prime Ministers. These simple facts help show that because it was united and enjoyed peaceful and cooperative Moslem and Christian relations throughout much of its history, Egypt survived. However, in recent years, sectarian tensions, or conflicts between Moslem and Christians, have begun to occur. These tension, can threaten Egypt's unity and hence, it is very important to understand why these tensions have developed. Briefly, general lack of awareness among Moslems about the Christian faith, marginalization of Christians, which led to resentment on their part and the Western intervention in Egypt's Moslem and Christian relations are possible reasons for tensions. While there are several reasons for the recent sectarian tensions that have occurred between Egyptian Moslems and Copts, all are related to the fact that Copts are treated as a minority group, hence marginalized from the public life of Egypt, especially politics and media. The most suitable resolution for the conflict therefore the Egyptian government should not to distinguish between Copts and Moslems and understand that while Egyptian Copts may differ in terms of their religious belief with Egyptian Moslems, they are not a minority group, and share a common Egyptian identity."

Tags:culture, political, system, majority, influenced, sub, national, identity, affilliation