Arabs, Copts, Egyptians, Americans

File File File this issue through research into the history of Arab nation- answers were divided in half between those who do not alism in Egypt or the Copts in Egypt, I decided to carry out accept the term “Arab” as part of their identity (12 some action research among my various Egyptian American respondents), and those who accept it completely or friends and acquaintances. Using email, I posed several with a modified definition of the term (12 respondents). questions focused on how they understand their identities Those who rejected “Arab” included nine Christian as Egyptian Americans in June and July 2006. My questions females, one Muslim female, and one Christian male. asked about their understanding of an “Arab” identity, a Those who accepted “Arab” included seven Christian “Coptic” identity, a connection with ancient Egyptian roots, females, one Muslim female, one Coptic male, and one and how these various identities affect their lives as Muslim male. Egyptians living in America. Arabs, Copts, Egyptians, Americans Most of the respondents who identified with the term Albeit not a random or representative sample,1 I received 24 “Arab” identified with it in terms of a shared language and responses from the approximately 30 friends I contacted. culture that encompassed history, food, music, and so on. An Exploration of Identity in the Diaspora The insightfulness and passion of the responses took me by “I speak the language and share history with the Arabs,” surprise. Some responded by answering each question S.H., a Christian female, wrote, “The people that had to thoroughly; others by writing an essay about the topic, change their religion under oppression of the Arab rul[ers] touching upon the issues I raised in my questions. Clearly, are my people and are Egyptians” (June 21, 2006). many Egyptian Americans wrestle with these identity questions and look for opportunities to discuss them. Almost all M.Y., also a Christian female, wrote, agreed that I could quote them and use their full names, but others requested anonymity. For the sake of consisten- Both Copts and Muslims share the common Arab heritage. cy, I will use initials throughout. They are entertained with the same films, eat the same food, laugh at the same jokes, speak the same language, so Among the 24 Egyptian American respondents, there I have a hard time separating modern day Copts from the were 17 Christian females, three Christian males, two Arab diaspora simply because Copts live an 'Arab' life, but Phoebe Farag Muslim females, and two Muslim males. The respondents the only difference is the religion (June 22, 2006). came from various parts of the U.S. Most lived in the Member of the Justice for Women Working Group of the National Council of Churches Washington, D.C. area, others in New York, New Jersey, The religious connotations associated with the word Massachusetts, and Illinois. Their ages ranged from 21 - “Arab” complicate this term. M.G., a Christian female who 45 years old, with the majority between the ages of 25 rejects the word “Arab,” noted that she has no problem “Coptic,” “Christian,” “Orthodox,” “Egyptian,” I have begun to understand “Arab” as a geopolitical lin- and 35. All the respondents had a university education or being identified with other Arab Christians in the Middle “American,” “North African”: All of these words describe guistic appellation, rather than a religious or ethnic desig- higher. All the Christian respondents were members of East — in other words, while she rejected the word “Arab”, my identity, some more than others. As a Coptic Orthodox nation. I started to tolerate the label, aware that it is usual- the Coptic Orthodox Church and active participants in she accepts this term if it identifies her with the Middle East Egyptian American woman, one word, “Arab,” is particu- ly being used to talk about the populations from the Middle their local churches in the U.S. Most of the Christian Christian minority (June 23, 2006). larly problematic. Many Copts, including some of my dear- East and North Africa. However, I have become less vehe- respondents, and all the Muslim respondents, are active est friends, vehemently deny the “Arab” label. The Copts, ment about rejecting the “Arab” label mainly because I participants in Egyptian American community life, mem- Establishing a connection with other Arabic-speaking dias- they say, are not Arabs, but descendents of the Pharaohs. have grown weary of explaining why. bers or leaders of such organizations as the Egyptian pora members is thus key to Egyptian Americans in identi- Only Egyptian Muslims can call themselves Arab. The American Alliance for Youth, the Egyptian American fying with the word “Arab”. M.E., a female Muslim, wrote, Egyptians who remained Christian after the Islamic invasion Nonetheless, I flinch when even knowledgeable presenters Cultural Association, and the Alliance of Egyptian in the seventh century, the Copts, were not Arab. This idea at policy and academic conferences conflate the terms Americans. There were few Egyptian-American families around while I was further reinforced when I read Leila Ahmed's memoir “Arab” and “Muslim” for convenience sake, only occa- was growing up in Tucson, Arizona, leaving me with a feel- A Border Passage, and discovered that even some Egyptian sionally giving a cursory mention to the millions of I present their responses in this essay as part of an ongo- ing of utter isolation ... Since there weren't a lot of Egyptians Muslims reject the Arab identity. Christians living in the Middle East and North Africa (if I am ing discussion about Coptic, Arab, and Egyptian identity with which I could identify, I had to cling on to the other lucky that day), but thereafter talking about the region as if in the diaspora. My analysis organizes the responses 'Arabs' for a sense of community and belonging. But how else might Egyptians define themselves, if not as it were entirely made up of Muslim adherents. I often find based on the idea of an “Arab” identity, a “Coptic” iden- Arab? Were Egypt not hostage, as it has been in our time, myself constructing questions that force presenters to tity, “ancient Egyptian” roots, and finally, for the female M.E. went on to question the dictionary.com definition of to a politics that so firmly fixes its identity as Arab, we might acknowledge the existence of the Christian minority in the respondents, the experience of living out this mosaic of “Arab”, and then constructed her own meaning: easily see that, on the basis of the country's history and region. How can I accept the use of “Arab” as a descriptive identities in the diaspora. Since little action research has “Descendents of Arabic-speaking countries in North Africa geography, there are in fact quite a number of other ways term for my identity, when so many others use it to describe been published on this topic, this essay presents both an and the Middle East who identify with a common cultural of conceiving of Egyptian identity (Ahmad, 2000, p. 11). a group of which I am not a member? engaging discussion and a call for further exploration of experience through music, dance, food, and language” Egyptian diaspora identities in the U.S.2 (June 26, 2006). Empowered by the possibility of different ways of under- Identity, especially amongst diaspora communities, is a liv- standing Egyptian identity, I continued to hold fast to the ing concept, defined as much by individuals’ and commu- An Arab Identity? H.E., however, did not define “Arab” in this way. She sentiment that “I am not Arab”, though in recent years, nities' perceptions of themselves as they are by politics, reli- “As an Egyptian, how do you identify with the word defined it as “those who live in the Arabian peninsula”, and through my work in grassroots international development, gion, history, and anthropology. Thus, rather than exploring 'Arab'?” I asked this to all the respondents, whose wrote, “I am a Muslim Egyptian and I do not consider 2 8 Volume XXIV, Nos. 116-117, Winter/Spring 2007 Volume XXIV, Nos. 116-117, Winter/Spring 2007 2 9 File File File this issue through research into the history of Arab nation- answers were divided in half between those who do not alism in Egypt or the Copts in Egypt, I decided to carry out accept the term “Arab” as part of their identity (12 some action research among my various Egyptian American respondents), and those who accept it completely or friends and acquaintances. Using email, I posed several with a modified definition of the term (12 respondents). questions focused on how they understand their identities Those who rejected “Arab” included nine Christian as Egyptian Americans in June and July 2006. My questions females, one Muslim female, and one Christian male. asked about their understanding of an “Arab” identity, a Those who accepted “Arab” included seven Christian “Coptic” identity, a connection with ancient Egyptian roots, females, one Muslim female, one Coptic male, and one and how these various identities affect their lives as Muslim male. Egyptians living in America. Arabs, Copts, Egyptians, Americans Most of the respondents who identified with the term Albeit not a random or representative sample,1 I received 24 “Arab” identified with it in terms of a shared language and responses from the approximately 30 friends I contacted. culture that encompassed history, food, music, and so on. An Exploration of Identity in the Diaspora The insightfulness and passion of the responses took me by “I speak the language and share history with the Arabs,” surprise. Some responded by answering each question S.H., a Christian female, wrote, “The people that had to thoroughly; others by writing an essay about the topic, change their religion under oppression of the Arab rul[ers] touching upon the issues I raised in my questions.

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