ABSTRACT

This critical analysis investigates the causes that brought about one of the most tumultuous periods in modern Egyptian history – the clashes between the Muslims and Copts during the 1970s. A unique retrospective, it features probing interviews with Egyptian intellectuals, writers, political and religious leaders, as well as common citizens from both the Muslim and Copt communities. Within a framework of economic, political and ideological factors, Nadia Ramsis Farah is able to synthesize a compelling portrait of a troubled national conscience in the face of religious strife.

First published 1986.

part |5 pages

PART I Muslim-Coptic Interactions in the Seventies

part |50 pages

PART II Egyptian Perceptions of the Strife

chapter |12 pages

1 Conspiracy Theories

chapter |19 pages

2 The Crisis Explanation

chapter |3 pages

4 The Crisis Explanation: An Appraisal

part |25 pages

PART III Ethnicity in Development: The Transition Crisis

part |22 pages

PART IV Strains of Economic Exhaustion and Ideological Polarization in Modern Egypt

part |20 pages

PART V The Dynamics of Transition and Conflict in the Seventies: The Role of the Religious Strife