Late in last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump penned a tweet that stood out against his prior comments, and not just for its nuance. As acknowledgment of a long-forgotten ethnoreligious group, the post reassures the persecuted church at large and portends major change to America’s priorities in the Middle East.
“To the Coptic Christian community living throughout the United States,” it read, “I deeply admire your Steadfast Faith in God, Perseverance through Centuries of Persecution and Love for this Great Country. I am Counting on your support and vote to help uphold our shared Social and Family Values and continue to Make America Great Again!”
What may seem like an offhanded campaign ploy to casual readers actually contains a marked foreign policy message to Islamist despots. It marks the first time in nearly four years that a president or high-ranking U.S. government official has singled out the Copts directly and, though he may pay lip service to abandoning NATO and our European allies, signals President Trump’s new targeted and strengthened approach to foreign policy.
During the Biden years, we’ve seen what an administration kowtowing to Islamist leaders has wrought on a global scale: the collapse of Afghanistan, a costly war in the Middle East, and antisemitism run amok within our borders. While many Middle Eastern Christians, influenced by regional dynamics, have expressed sympathy for Hamas in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Coptic Christians have remained closely aligned with Western values, emphasizing religious tolerance, national stability, and opposition to Islamist extremism. In speaking up for and aligning the United States with Egyptian Copts, Trump projects strength abroad and a reclamation of Judeo-Christian values at home.
Who Are the Copts?
Coptic Christians are the largest ethnoreligious minority in Egypt, nearly 10 percent of the country’s population of 112 million. They are distinct from Arabs in origin, widely recognized as the descendants of Egypt’s ancient Pharaonic people. The country’s oldest Christian community, the Copts are tied to the arrival of Saint Mark in 62 c.e. Over time, the Coptic Church became the spiritual hub for Christians in Egypt, serving as a vital link between the faith and the region’s indigenous culture.
The Coptic language, a direct descendant of ancient Egyptian, evolved from the language of the pharaohs and was written using the Greek alphabet with additional characters from Demotic Egyptian. The language is perhaps most famous for its role in deciphering the Rosetta Stone, the trilingual artifact that, inscribed with the same text in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek and Demotic scripts, allowed scholars to unlock the meaning of ancient Egyptian writing. The Coptic language served as a key to interpreting the hieroglyphs, allowing modern historians to access Egypt’s ancient past.
The last remnants of the ancient Egyptian language survive today in Coptic, which still serves as a liturgical language in the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic churches, though it is spoken as a vernacular by only a handful of people. The Coptic Church, while preserving the language for religious use, contributed to its decline as a spoken language by prioritizing Arabic for sermons, education, and accessibility under Islamic rule. Though Coptic remains a vital symbol of heritage, its limited use outside liturgical settings reflects the broader challenges that Copts have faced in preserving linguistic and cultural identity. Languages including Hebrew and Arabic have fostered group cohesion by serving as symbols of cultural and religious identity, preserving traditions, and unifying their respective communities.
Over many years, Christianity became deeply ingrained in Egyptian society, with the Copts playing a significant role as custodians of the nation’s Christian heritage. The religion flourished in Egypt during the early centuries of the common era, with Alexandria becoming a key center of Christian theology and learning. Egypt had played a vital part in the development of Christendom following the Roman Empire’s division in 395 c.e. before being absorbed into the Byzantine Empire. The divergence of Coptic Church from other Christian communities, particularly after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, isolated it from Byzantine Orthodoxy, setting the stage for marginalization.
“It’s often forgotten that Egypt was predominantly Christian for centuries after Saint Mark the Evangelist founded the Coptic Church,” explains Mariam Wahba, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “As a cradle of early Christianity, Egypt profoundly shaped Christian theology and became the birthplace of monasticism. This Christian majority endured into the Middle Ages, gradually declining after the Arab conquest. Today, Egypt’s Copts remain the guardians of this often-overlooked history.”
When Muslim Arab forces conquered Egypt in 641 c.e., the Copts were still the majority of the population. Over the following centuries, though, a gradual demographic shift occurred, owing to persecution, social pressures, and taxation policies favoring Muslim converts, as the populace were encouraged to adopt Islam. Muslims had become the majority by the tenth century. A pattern of marginalization still affects Coptic Christians today, cementing their struggle for survival and equal treatment in a predominantly Islamic society.
Persecution under Islam
The marginalization of Egypt’s Coptic Christians has deep historical roots in the Islamic conquest of the seventh century and in broad application of sharia law. As Islam became the dominant religion over centuries, the shift was marked by institutionalized discrimination, relegating Copts to minority status. This transition was facilitated through the systematic implementation of the dhimmi system, which governed non-Muslims under Islamic rule. The dhimmi system, originating in the early Islamic period, imposed financial, religious, political, and legal burdens that severely restricted freedoms, laying the foundation for the enduring marginalization of the Coptic community.
Dhimmi (from the Arabic “dhimma,” meaning “protection” or “covenant”) refers to non-Muslims living under Islamic rule who were granted protected status in exchange for agreeing to specific conditions. Historically, this status applied to “People of the Book,” particularly Christians and Jews, and later expanded to include, depending on the region, Zoroastrians, Hindus, and adherents of other religions.
Under this system, Copts were subjected to the jizya tax, an annual payment required of all non-Muslims for “protection” under Islamic rule. Scholars estimate that for the average person this tax equaled three to four months’ income, a significant financial burden. Moreover, the tax was often enforced collectively, leaving communities vulnerable to extortion and collective punishment. Over time, further extortion fees were levied, deepening the financial hardships faced by Copts. Though the formal dhimmi system was abolished in 1855 by Sa’id Pasha, the viceroy (khedive) of Egypt, many of its discriminatory practices remain de facto realities, blurring the line between historical oppression and current marginalization.
Despite its official discontinuance, the legacy of the dhimmi system endures. The construction of new churches remains heavily restricted, with renovations often denied owing to sectarian opposition and government efforts in the very cities that resisted initial Islamic conquests. The autonomy of the Coptic Church is undermined by government intervention, which includes involvement in the selection of the Coptic pope. Politically, Copts remain excluded from influential positions, ensuring minimal representation in governance. This marginalization is compounded by inequalities in the legal system, where the testimony of non-Muslims and women is undervalued compared with that of Muslim men, and punishments for crimes are applied unequally.
When leader Gamal Abdel Nasser rose to power in the mid-20th century, his emphasis on national unity initially created an appearance of inclusivity and provided hope for a cohesive society. His vision of a unified Arab nation led to reforms that, in education, health care, and infrastructure, benefited all Egyptians, including Copts. However, his policies of centralization and the promotion of an Arab-Islamic identity inadvertently weakened minority representation, leaving Copts with fewer opportunities to advocate for their rights. Wealthier Copts were disproportionately affected by the nationalization of land and businesses, further eroding their economic and social standing.
Egypt’s current leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, has sought to cultivate the Christian community for political gain. However, since his rise in 2013, violence against Copts has surged, often perpetrated by Islamist extremists. High-profile attacks, such as the Palm Sunday bombings in 2017 and the bus attack in Minya in 2018, underscore the persistent threats. Such violence is part of a broader pattern of displacement and persecution, as seen in Sinai, for example, where hundreds of Coptic families have been forced from their homes.
The modern plight of Copts reflects their historical oppression, with remnants of the dhimmi system persisting in the form of legal, political, and social inequalities. While their emigration to the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries has enabled many Copts to thrive abroad, it has also contributed to a loss of cultural and religious continuity within Egypt. The diaspora now includes between 300,000 and 500,000 Copts in the United States alone, demonstrating both their resilience and the ongoing challenges to preserving their heritage in their ancestral homeland.
The Copts and Our Modern Political Context
During his first term, President Trump displayed consistent support for Coptic Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. His administration consistently emphasized the importance of international religious freedom and the protection of persecuted communities. For example, he recognized “Global Coptic Day,” highlighting the contributions and challenges of the Coptic community as the largest Christian community in the Middle East.
This acknowledgment was paired with broader policies advocating for religious liberty worldwide, urging other leaders to wield diplomatic and economic tools to safeguard worship rights across the globe. He hosted a Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom summit in 2018 and 2019 and enhanced the role of the Office of International Religious Freedom. These efforts often highlighted the plight of Christians in Egypt, including Copts, and called attention to systemic repression and violence by both state actors and extremist groups. Trump’s administration also placed significant pressure on countries that failed to protect religious minorities, potentially influencing U.S. foreign aid decisions, including to Iran and Egypt.
“The incoming Trump administration has a unique opportunity to bring Coptic Christians and other persecuted religious minorities to the forefront,” Wahba continues.
Supporting this cause, as in the first Trump administration, is both a moral imperative and a strategic necessity. Defending religious freedom not only reinforces American values but also promotes stability in regions critical to U.S. interests. As the president seeks to reset U.S. relations in the Middle East and move beyond the failed policies of the past, prioritizing Christians and other minority groups should be central to this effort.
The Biden administration did not make the plight of Coptic Christians a focal point in its public statements or policies. The 2021 and 2022 International Religious Freedom Reports, released under Secretary of State Antony Blinken, broadly address religious persecution but do not spotlight the systemic challenges facing Coptic Christians in Egypt. The reports prioritize countries including China and Nigeria while offering only general observations about Egypt’s religious dynamics. Although the administration expressed commitment to integrating religious freedom into its human rights agenda, it took no notable steps to advocate specifically for Coptic Christians, even amid high-profile cases of abduction, forced conversion, and church restrictions in Egypt.
Why might this be? The Biden administration’s foreign policy has often been criticized for projecting weakness, especially in its engagements with Middle Eastern and Islamist-leaning leaders. In Egypt, for instance, the administration has maintained strong ties with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, providing significant military and economic aid despite ongoing concerns about human rights violations. Inexplicably, Egypt remains the second-highest recipient of American military aid, just behind Israel.
Efforts to reengage with Iran and other Islamist-leaning governments, as well as a focus on pragmatic alliances with Qatar, for example, whose authoritarian government is hostile to religious freedom, have further highlighted a tendency within the Democratic Party to prioritize geopolitical alliances over addressing the plight of vulnerable religious minorities. Such policies may reflect a desire to avoid alienating key partners, even at the expense of human rights advocacy — and the United States’ Judeo-Christian heritage. By prioritizing strategic alliances over moral leadership, the administration sidelined our ideological allies and tacitly supported the systemic discrimination and persecution of Copts and other minorities.
Why Should Americans Care?Trump’s seemingly innocuous tweet advocating for the protection of persecuted Christians, including Copts, is more than a symbolic gesture — it reflects a strategic and moral imperative that resonates with everyday Americans. The survival and flourishing of religious minorities is vital to understanding the intricate demographic and cultural make-up of a region where the U.S. remains deeply entangled.
This advocacy preserves America’s foundational values — freedom, justice, and human dignity — in the face of global persecution and antipathy. As one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, the Copts are a living link to the region’s ancient history and its religious diversity, now under threat. Allowing their persecution to persist unchecked would not only undermine these values. It would set a dangerous precedent for the treatment of religious minorities worldwide.
Grace Bydalek is a writer, performer, and administrator based on New York’s Upper West Side. She is the director of the Dissident Project and a visiting fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.
Instagram: @grace_daley
Published in Independent Women’s Forum in December, 2024.