The attack in Alexandria revealed the strength of Egyptian unity despite an unreasonable overreaction by some. Although irresponsible agitation that promotes terrorism continues, the people of Egypt have proven the strength of their unity and depth of their patriotism in their response to the 1 January terrorist attack. The haters of coexistence and provocateurs of discrimination among Egyptians —who wish to hijack power, divide the country and fragment the homeland —failed in their endeavours cloaked in religion.

 I have written before that the crime at Nagaa Hamadi and its aftermath require more than an apology by Muslims for the actions of the foolish in their ranks, or by Copts for the reaction of the ignorant among them regarding recent or past events. I believe it is more constructive if both Muslim and Coptic thinkers embrace their role of raising awareness about the origins of Egyptian national unity. Without being a conspiracy theorist, I believe our modern history since the French invasion is peppered with foreign plots aiming at tearing the unity of our national fabric. But the nationalistic alertness of the people and politicians, as well as responsible and constructive positions by both Muslims and Copts in Egypt, succeeded in foiling them.

If Egyptians were to rediscover their origins and explore their history, it would be a critical tool in the intellectual battle against the advocates of “the Caliphate state” and the enemies of coexistence, as well as strengthening nationalistic loyalty and allegiance. It would also counter those who champion a “Church state” and others who rely on support from abroad at the expense of their homeland. This, I already mentioned in my previous article on the massacre in Alexandria and the need to return to the fundamentals of a state of coexistence.

Let us first look at Gamal Hemdan’s seminal work The Character of Egypt in which he concluded that Egypt is home to an unmatched degree of unified bloodlines and roots for a country this large in terms of both geography and population. Egypt’s national unity is the product of common ethnicity, common religion, common language, common culture and common psychology. Egypt is one of the few countries that epitomises the principle that its citizens are all those whom the nation holds under one umbrella, who merged into it and resided there permanently.

The unison of the origins of Muslims and Copts is elementary, simply because Egypt’s ethnic composition precedes its religious make-up by at least three or four thousand years. The emergence of the Egyptian people preceded Christianity by more than 3,200 years and Islam by 4,000 years at least.

Second, let us look at what the great Egyptian thinker Suleiman Hozayen surmised in his book Egypt’s Civilisation. “The overall racial profile of Egyptians was established and took its unique character well before there were Copts and Muslims,” and that Muslims are not “intruders” in Egypt in any way, or less “Egyptian” in origin than the Copts. The Muslims are not lesser descendants of the Pharaohs than the Copts, even though some Muslims are infused with Arab and non-Arab blood. At the same time, the bloodline of Copts is also blended with foreign influences through mixed marriages with Levantine and European Christians.

As Hemdan stated, it is well known that most Egyptian Muslims are the descendants of Egyptian Copts who converted to Islam, and that today’s Copts are descendants of the Copts who maintained their Christian faith. He concluded that Egypt does not suffer from a sectarian or minority problem, unless it is the making or imagination of conspirators from abroad or symptomatic of a defective domestic culture.

Egypt will remain the symbol of religious unity, as it is the epitome of national unity. By looking at ethnic roots, socially and demographically, Copts are an integral part of Egypt’s national identity and a vital component of the Egyptian nation to which it is closely bonded and fused. Egypt is not divided internally, has never known disunity and could not be ruptured under any circumstances or pressure, despite hot tempers and complex problems that cause the truth to be lost amidst a temporary sectarian maelstrom.

But even these sectarian tensions have a positive impact, by voiding shallow swamps of thoughts and mistaken corrupted understandings, whether inherited or acquired, which lurk in the minds of a few in both camps. The generations of Muslims and Christians who fought together for the freedom of the homeland, equality for citizens in a spirit of mutual respect, and arrived at a deep and solid understanding, as noted by Charles Issawi, were replaced by generations who grew up amidst religious fanaticism and extremism, patriotic apathy, incidents of sectarian strife, calls to seek support from abroad and allegiances to things other than Egyptian nationalism. Accordingly, it is vital that intellect should play a part in reviving Egyptian nationalism.

I have written before that the great Egyptian slogan “Religion is for God; the Country for Everyone” was not coined during the 1919 Revolution but was the basis in the establishment of Egypt more than 5,000 years ago. The Egyptians —despite their diverse faiths —created the first central state and united nation in the history of humanity. I also said that accepting and respecting the other of a different faith was a cornerstone of the union between Upper and Lower Egypt, or as the founders of Egypt called it the union of the “two regions” or “two lands”. It embodied acceptance and respect for the way the other worshipped, and allowed the construction of places of worship across the country.

Despite a large variety of Ancient Egyptian belief systems, Egypt’s unity remained strong and unbreakable. The belief in coexistence among these faiths cemented Egypt’s unique political, national and cultural union. In Life in Ancient Egypt by pioneer German Egyptologist Adolf Erman, we are told that before the union the residents of each province in Egypt believed that their deity was better than those in other provinces. But to honour one another, they added the qualities of the other deities to their own local gods.

Hence, the indigenous deities in Ancient Egypt came to have the same characteristics as each other, making the union of north and south the beginning of a new era for Egypt’s religion that was made up of a combination of religious beliefs, despite their basic belief in diversity. Since the sun prominently caught the eye of the Ancient Egyptian when he looked up to the sky, the people of the north and south came to know the God Ra, who personified justice. Egyptians everywhere added the name Ra to their deities. Maat who symbolised truth and justice was the daughter of Ra, who told the Ancient Egyptian: “Tell the truth and live by it, for it is mighty and powerful.”

When Akhnaton called for unity and monotheism for the entire world, the extremist groups who supported Aton’s revolution raided the temples and tombs. They did this in the belief that since Aton is the only god and “creator of all things” it is heretical to believe in other gods, which made it impossible for another god to exist.

These ancient beliefs have resurfaced and gained popularity once again, but are not what they used to be. Simson Najovits stated in his book Egypt, Trunk of the Tree, that Egyptians more than any other people believed in harmonious diversity and that is how they invented Amon Ra, the single deity whose image became that of all other gods and their agents. In this way, they were able to maintain their national unity despite plurality in their beliefs.

Until next time …