Description
Book SynopsisFor the most part of their shared history, Copts and Muslims in Egypt have experienced bouts of sectarian tension alternating with peaceful coexistence. Copts and Muslims in Egypt tells the story of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt from the coming of Islam to the aftermath of the January 2011 revolution. It begins by describing how the Church of Alexandria came into existence, and created a monastic tradition that would influence the whole of Christendom, before exploring the theological controversies that plagued the Eastern Roman world before the advent of Islam. After bouts of persecution by the Roman emperors, the Copts were strongly opposed by the Melkite Church, but, with the Arab invasion of Egypt in the seventh century, they achieved a measure of independence and individuality that they retained over the centuries. The Copts were also subjected to periods of persecution-by rulers from the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid dynasties, and under the Mamluks-but by and large, a relatively satisfactory form of cohabitation was established. The authors argue that, even if they were occasionally attacked and persecuted, the Copts generally shared the fortunes of their Muslim neighbors, and that religious difference in Egypt was frequently exploited by rulers, both internal and external, for political gain. Copts and Muslims in Egypt provides an engaging and highly readable account of communal relations through key points in Egyptian history.
Trade Review"A clear and very readable account, it includes translations of several Coptic and Arabic sources, otherwise not easily available."—
AramcoWorldTable of ContentsList of Figures Notes on Translation Acknowledgment Dedication Introduction 1 Early Christianity in Egypt Early Christianity in Egypt The Catechetical School of Alexandria Monastic Egypt Diocletian and the Persecution of Christians Athanasius and the Separation of the Coptic Church 2 The Coming of Islam Egypt Before the Arab Invasion The Arabs Arrive in Egypt Was Egypt Acquired by a Treaty or by Force? How the Arabs Saw Egypt for the First Time The Library of Alexandria Conditions Imposed on Non-Muslims Early Administration Under Amr Ibn al-As 3 Early Arab Dynasties: The Umayyads and the Abbasids The Umayyad Dynasty (661-750 A.D.) The Abbasid Dynasty (750-1517 A.D.) 4 Era of Independent Muslim Dynasties The Tulunid Dynasty (884-896 A.D.) The Ikhshidi Dynasty (935-969 A.D.) The Fatimid Dynasty (909- 1171 A.D.) The Ayyubid Dynasty (1171-1250 A.D.) Mohamed Tal'at Harb (1867-194 A.D.) Rosa al-Yusuf (1888-1958 A.D.) 5 The Mamluk Era (1250-1517 A.D.) 6 The Islamization of Egypt Threats to Islam from Mongols and Europeans Changing Demography in the South of Egypt Rich Coptic Administrators and Tax Collectors Marriage and Conversion The Shift from Coptic to Arabic Language 7 Egypt Under the Ottomans (1517-1798) Turkish Rule Coptic-Muslim Relations The Decline of the Ottoman Dynasty 8 The French Adventure in Egypt (1798-1801 A.D.) Under Napoleonic Rule Mu'allim Ya'qub: Hero or Traitor? The End of the French Adventure in Egypt and Its Effects 9 Mohamed Ali Dynasty (1805-1952) The Founder of Modern Egypt The Dynasty After the Death of Mohamed Ali The Coptic Church and Colonialism 10 The Urabi Revolt (1879- 1882 A.D.) The British, the Muslims, and the Copts 11 Egypt Under the British (1881-1954 A.D.) 12 From Revolt to Revolution (1919-1952 A.D.) The Wafd Party (1923-1952) Political Islam The Copts and Political Islam Copt-Muslim Relations Among Intellectuals The Problem of Building Churches in Twentieth Century Egypt 13 The 1952 Revolt and the Nasser Era (1954-1970) The Coptic Church in Transition 14 The Sadat Era (1970-1981) Financing and Political Islam The Rise of Political Islam Under Sadat [a-head]Sadat's Difficult Years 15 The Mubarak Era (1981-2011 A.D.) The Return of Pope Shenouda A Changing Political, Social, and Economic Climate 16 The January 25 (2011) Revolution and its Aftermath Epilogue Appendix 1 Taha Hussein (1889-1973 A.D.) Salama Musa (1887-1958 A.D.) Makram Ebeid (1889-1961 A.D.) Jurji Zaidan (1861-1914 A.D.) Appendix 2 Notes Bibliography Index
