The Copts must resist assimilation to the culture of Muslim and Arabic majority in Egypt. That means they must resist the following three processes:
- ISLAMISATION (الأسلمة):the process whereby a Coptic Christian converts to Islam; and stops looking at himself, or herself, as belonging to the Coptic Christian Faith, Church and nation. This is a process of total assimilation into a foreign religion and foreign culture; and it has meant, in the majority of cases, self-alienation not just from the Christian Faith and Church, but also from the Coptic nation, and the forging of new alliances and allegiances to replace the old. This process has affected individual Copts; but, also, at times, large groups of them. The reasons for that were various, but social, economic and political pressures have been prominent in the process.
- ARABISATION (التعريب):is the process by which Copts stop talking in their own Coptic language and adopt Arabic as their main daily language. It is thus a process of language shift from Coptic to Arabic.Arabisation is different from Islamisation not just in its meaning, but also in the causes that lead to it, and, also, in the historical period during which it became a major phenomenon. But one must bear in mind here that Arabisation, as a large phenomenon, preceded Islamisation in many ways.
- ISLAMIC/ARABIC ASSIMILATION or CULTURALISATION (التذويب الإسلامي):this is the process by which Copts, as individuals or collectively, consciously or subconsciously, abandoned their traditions, customs, behaviours, etc. – or in one word their culture – and acquired parts of Islamic culture to which influence they have been exposed.
We must resist that and remain Copts. Our identity is different from that of the Egyptian Muslim and Arab majority – and we must guard our minds and senses so as not to be influenced by Arab or Muslim culture. This is not a call to shut ourselves in and not to be open, but a call to approach Arab and Muslim culture, whether in literature, language, poetry, movies, soap operas, theatre, songs, music, etc., with a solid national background that acts as a barrier against assimilation or destruction of our own identity and culture. In the end, it is about preserving our nation and Church. It should also not be taken in any way to suggest that I say Arab and Muslim culture is all bad – the point is, there are many interesting cultures out there, Arab, Indian, Chinese, Brazilian, etc., but they are not OURS: they CANNOT feed our soul. We need a culture that respond and feed our inner self.
Many Copts do not understand that, and possessing no strong national sentiment, slowly and subtly get sucked into Arab and Muslim culture. This we must resist, and must make our brethren aware of its danger. But I am conscious that no nation can live in a cultural vacuum: either we must create our own literature, music, songs, theatre, etc., or the Arab and Muslim culture will invade our national space and carry us away.
RESIST, RESIST, RESIST!
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