What Is a Coptic Christian?
There have been an increasing number of attacks on Coptic Christians as of late. Who are they? And why do they keep getting attacked?
Coptic is a term used to define the Christians living in Egypt since the word refers to the Afro-Asiatic liturgical language that they use in church. Some people also find "Coptic" synonymous to Egyptian. Hence, some would say Coptic Christian refers to Egyptian Christians or Christians from the Middle East.
Mark, who authors one of the four gospels in their Bible, is believed to be the founder of the Coptic Christian Church. The Copts have a special inclination to Mark's gospel, which preaches Christ's resurrection, ascension, and miracles. The group is one of the earliest Christian sectors to acknowledge Christ as both God and man.
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Copts make up the largest group of Christians in the Middle East, which is 10 percent of Egypt's population. Despite that, they live in a predominantly Muslim region, and because of that fact, they are often persecuted for having different views from the vast majority.
The Copts and other Christian groups living in the region have put up with religious persecution for about 2,000 years now. Radicals have burned down churches and have spilled blood. These Muslim extremists brand Christians as infidels, who are against their fate.
So far, there has been four deadly attacks on the Copts since December. The most recent attack on the community happened on Friday, which left 28 people killed by masked gunmen. The assailants ambushed the bus carrying the Copts to a monastery south of Cairo.
The Coptic community, as well as their Muslim sympathizers, has been clamoring for more protection from the government. Following the recent attack, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi said this will not go unnoticed, and that retaliatory measures are in place.
"What you've seen today will not go unpunished. An extremely painful strike has been dealt to the bases. Egypt will never hesitate to strike terror bases anywhere," el-Sisi said in a televised statement.
