VU Research Portal Blessed is Egypt my People Klempner, L.J. 2016 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Klempner, L. J. (2016). Blessed is Egypt my People: Recontextualizing Coptic Identity outside of Egypt. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 26. Sep. 2021 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT Blessed is Egypt my People RECONTEXTUALIZING COPTIC IDENTITY OUTSIDE OF EGYPT ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graAd Doctor AAn de Vrije Universiteit AmsterdAm, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. V. SubrAmaniAm, in het openbAAr te verdedigen ten overstAAn vAn de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen op maAndAg 19 december 2016 om 11.45 uur in de aulA van de universiteit, De BoelelAAn 1105 door Levi JoshuA Klempner geboren te Hadera, Israël promotor: prof.dr. R.B. ter HAAr Romeny Table of Contents Preface .................................................................................................................................. v Chapter I – The Vessels .................................................................................................... 1 Identity .......................................................................................................................................... 7 Strict Definition ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Rise of the term And its development ............................................................................................. 8 Group Membership ............................................................................................................................... 11 The MeAning And ImplicAtions of An Identity And its MutAbility ...................................... 15 Consensus building And the contrAct of group identity ........................................................ 23 Opting in or out of the Group Identity .......................................................................................... 25 Identity in the structure of the orgAnizAtionAl system ......................................................... 28 Morality ....................................................................................................................................... 30 The RelevAnce of MorAlity to Identity .......................................................................................... 30 The MeAning of MorAlity .................................................................................................................... 35 Ethnicity ...................................................................................................................................... 38 Minority ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Definition And MeAning ...................................................................................................................... 40 The Benefits And Costs of A Recognized Minority ................................................................... 44 A Question of BoundAries .................................................................................................................. 49 The Role of International Attention And the Impact of Violence ...................................... 50 Migration ..................................................................................................................................... 52 MigrAtion And Employment .............................................................................................................. 52 The Direction of MigrAtion ................................................................................................................ 56 Nuts & Bolts ............................................................................................................................................. 59 MigrAtion in the PAst ............................................................................................................................ 62 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 65 Diaspora versus Communities in the “Lands of Migration” ....................................... 67 Origin And Definition of the Term DiAsporA .............................................................................. 67 Issues with the Term DiAsporA ....................................................................................................... 68 A TrAnsnAtionAl Community? .......................................................................................................... 70 Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 74 The Original Structure of the ReseArch ....................................................................................... 74 InitiAl Results And ChAllenges .......................................................................................................... 79 The Altered Methodology .................................................................................................................. 80 The Role of the ReseArcher ............................................................................................................... 81 Chapter II – The Crucible ............................................................................................. 85 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 85 Prejudice and Perceptions .................................................................................................... 87 The Coptic Outlook ............................................................................................................................... 87 The StAte View ........................................................................................................................................ 90 New Soil ..................................................................................................................................................... 94 Alone but Connected ............................................................................................................................ 99 Cyber-Sovereignty ............................................................................................................................. 101 E Pluribus Unum? .................................................................................................................. 104 Citizenship And the Construction of MAjority ........................................................................ 104 The QuadrAngle of Power ............................................................................................................... 107 The FAte of Other Minorities in Egypt ....................................................................................... 111 Turks And CircAssiAns .................................................................................................................................. 114 iii Jews ...................................................................................................................................................................... 115 Greeks ................................................................................................................................................................. 117 Forging New Nations .................................................................................................................................... 119 Persecuted Minority, Proud EgyptiAn or A Little of Both? ................................................ 121 Church And StAte ................................................................................................................................. 125 The Linguistic Field .............................................................................................................. 126 The Role of LAnguage ....................................................................................................................... 126 The LAnguage of Religion ................................................................................................................ 129 Maṣri And Arabic ................................................................................................................................. 132 The Geographical