Who is a Copt?

Abstract This article addresses the complicated ways in which the interests of the indigenous Christian community of Egypt, known as Copts, have been represented at state and global levels. While Copts may be easily defined as a community, the representation of their interests is complicated by internal and external forces. Internally, the community has long witnessed the rivalry between Church authorities and the lay leadership. Since the late twentieth century, a restive and assertive diaspora has challenged the domestic leadership of the Copts. What is more, the involvement of global Christian and human rights groups has arisen to speak for Coptic issues as well. As a greater panoply of groups speaks up for Coptic interests, the traditional neo-millet leadership of the Coptic Orthodox Church seeks both to co-opt and harness global forces that challenge it.