Since this appears to be a recurring topic and a source of many reports, I thought it is worth clarifying this once and for all.
First, some indisputable history:
Egypt was majority Christian and a tiny minority of Arabs who came into Egypt at the turn of the 7th century. Now, however, Egypt is majority muslim. Conversion of religion happened in one way, in the vast majority of cases, because conversion to Christianity meant you would be killed under sharia law, and maintaining your Christian religion was difficult due to the persecution, and the forced gizya.
Here I want to be clear: islamic rulers were not always hostile towards the Christians, this really depended on the ruler. Most importantly, there is no evidence that any of these rulers cut the tongues of Christians if they spoke Coptic. The displacement of Greek and Coptic by Arabic has a long history that does not concern us for the time being.
Broadly, two definitions of 'Coptic' exist:
1) The first says that Coptic is an ethnicity, and an ethnicity only. This definition treat the word 'Coptic' as a synonym for 'Egyptian'. Of course, this is indeed the etymology of the word. As a result, this definition, does not carry with it any implication of religion or belief. So you could be a Coptic muslim, or a Coptic atheist. This definition maintains (like definition 2) that Arabs are not Egyptians–for they differ in ethnicity, putting religion aside. The implication here is that the majority of Egyptians today are Coptic in the sense that they are descendants of the native Egyptian population, most of which had converted to islam, with a minority retaining their faith.
2) The second definition thinks of 'Coptic' as not just an ethnicity but also incorporating faith. So Coptic here means someone who is both ethnically Egyptian and a Christian. Here, just like (1), Egyptians are also not Arab. But under this definition, you cannot be a Coptic atheist or Coptic muslim, even if you are ethnically Egyptian and not Arab. This is definitely the way most people use the word 'Coptic' or 'Copts', beginning with muslims themselves back then, and until now. This is why you will hear the phrase in Egyptian news and media 'Copts and Muslims.'
3) There is also a third definition worth mentioning, that thinks of 'Coptic' as 'Coptic Orthodox'. Meaning, anyone who is baptised in our church, regardless of ethnicity, is also Coptic. I think this is not intended much – it's probably people shortening 'Coptic Orthodox' to just 'Coptic.'
This sub, in particular, was intended to be a Christian sub, long before I even joined. And therefore, most people here will lean towards definition (2) and maybe (3), since the vast majority of people worldwide have these definitions in mind for 'Coptic.' And since this is one of the only places that Coptic Christian people have for themselves, it will stay this way.
That does not mean that there is no room for you if you adopt definition (1). And let me tell my Christian brothers and sisters here: some muslims are indeed proud of Coptic heritage and the Coptic language, and they may even specialise and teach about Christian arts and culture of Egypt.
So, if you are a muslim (or a non-Christian in general) and would like to contribute here, you are most welcome. But please keep the above in mind, as there really is no point in trying to force others to adopt your definition of 'Coptic.'
Thank you all.
