About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

4 Replies to “Lecture on Copts in Egypt”

  1. Revealing info . . .excellent find.

    The entire lecture (and transcript of this event) can be found here.

    the meat (so to speak) of this clip is found in this portion of the transcript:

    The word “Copts” doesn’t ring a big bell for many ears. Sometimes [people here] don’t know what are Copts, who are they, and why they are called Copts. That’s why I felt that it is worth it to start by explaining why we are called Copts and the explanation might tell you a little bit of the dilemma we have.
    Egypt has been always Aigyptos and everybody knew Egypt as Aigyptos. In the 7th Century there was a shift in the name and the country. When the Arabs came to Egypt, or, rather, invaded Egypt, they could not pronounce Aigyptos because of the linguistic differences. They pronounced it Gypt; so they took away the “Ai” and the “os.” So Aigyptos became Gypt, and, when they wrote it, they wrote it with a “Ka” so it became “Copt.” The whole country was that of the Copts.
    But gradually, for various reasons, whether because of taxation or pressure of some kind, or ambitions in dealing with the leaders or the governors of the country, some people converted. Those who converted were no longer Copts. They became something else, and those who remained Christians were the ones who were called “the Copts.”

  4. It’s worth pulling up (if you have it/time) to remind folks of Egypts origins in Christianity – not Islam. I refer to this quote frequently, which is why I find this post repeatedly.