Keywords: shared heritage, Egyptian identity, Coptic art, Islamic art, customs and traditions, the Coptic language, popular culture, Copts and Muslims, Egyptian history.
This paper discusses
This research paper “The Shared Heritage of the Egyptians” discusses the concept of cultural and historical unity between Egyptians, Christians and Muslims, and shows that the Coptic and Islamic heritage in Egypt are not two separate states but represent a unique state of cohesion and integration.
The paper reviews several fundamental axes to highlight this shared heritage, namely:
- The influence of Islamic art on Coptic art: a demonstration of the mutual influence in architecture, vegetal and geometric ornamentation, and the inscriptions on the walls of churches and monasteries.
- Shared feasts and customs: a review of the customs and traditions inherited since the Pharaonic ages, which the Coptic era transmitted and which continued among Muslims and Christians together (such as: the pounding of the mortar, Sham el-Nessim, the forty-day commemoration of the dead, and some customs of the Prophet’s birthday).
- The impact of the Coptic language on linguistic identity: a clarification of how the Coptic language (the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language) influenced the Egyptian colloquial dialect, with hundreds of words of Coptic origin entering it.
- Symbols in popular culture: a review of the shared symbols that both sides venerate or are influenced by, such as the Nile River, the story of the Holy Family’s journey to Egypt, the lotus flower, and the key of life.
- The shared spirit in the Egyptian personality: highlighting the great similarity in the behaviors of religiosity, thinking, ways of responding to religious doubts, and the veneration of saints, which reflects the fusion of the Egyptian personality in the crucible of the single source
Introduction
The shared Coptic heritage among Egyptians, Christians and Muslims, is not limited to intellectual or linguistic heritage alone, but extends to include all material and immaterial heritage. We shall see in these studies that what is shared among all Egyptians did not include only one field but extended from the public sphere to the private sphere, from the personality of society in general to the personality of the individual Egyptian. We shall see during this study the influence of Islamic art on Coptic art, the shared feasts and customs of the Egyptians of the single source, the impact of the Coptic language in shaping the linguistic identity of the Egyptians, and the symbols in popular culture. All these things together form a single foundation and show completely how the Coptic heritage polished the personality of the Egyptian human being without introducing into it what is alien to it.
The Influence of Islamic Art on Coptic Art
Islamic art in the Islamic ages influenced the Coptic ornamentation and engravings in the Coptic Christian churches, and it had a great impact in Egypt across the various ages. These influences were manifested in the architectural art of Coptic architecture, and left a great impact on planning and drawing, such as the columns, the general form, the apses, and the domes.
“The large apse surrounding the sanctuary of the Church of the Virgin at the Monastery of the Syrians and the ornamentation in it consist also of stucco ornamentation, most of it of the vegetal type developed from the Samaritan style, resembling the ornamentation found in the mihrabs of mosques. And just as there are geometric ornaments in the form of equilateral triangles and regular hexagons in the gate of the Monastery of Bawit in Upper Egypt, and the Monastery of Simeon in Aswan, they resemble the ornaments found in the ceiling of the mausoleum of Sultan Qalawun (1285-1288 CE) and the Mosque of Sultan al-Nasir at the Citadel in Cairo, which date to the year 1335 CE. These are Islamic ornaments developed from the geometric ornaments that date back to the early Roman era”[1]
The influence extended also to the vegetal and geometric ornamentation, which is considered among the most important and most numerous ornaments executed in churches and monasteries, because it forms the basic ornamentation with which the doors and arches are decorated, as well as the ornamentation of the cross, where the forms of the cross and its decoration varied.
The Arabic language had a prominent role in this influence, for after the Arabization of the registers into Arabic following the Islamic entry, the Gospel was first translated into Arabic, then writing moved to become ornamentation on the columns and monuments of the church alongside the Coptic language. Calligraphic ornamentation was considered one of the most important features of Islamic art.
Shared Feasts and Customs
Many ancient customs took root from the Pharaonic ages, continued in the Coptic period preceding the Arabic era, and were passed down through generations, remaining entrenched in Egyptian society. Christians and Muslims passed these customs on from one another, and this makes us see with complete clarity the common ground upon which Egyptian society rests, and how it formed and shaped society today without diminishing anyone’s customs; rather, it was a wealth for Egyptian society.
“Badawi affirms that the era of the Coptic state was like the locomotive that transported those customs and traditions, just as this historical era produced many customs specific to the Christian religion, which the Muslims took from them and which still exist to this day”[2]
The custom of pounding the mortar is a custom linked to childbirth, in which the parents celebrate the newborn after several days. It is a Pharaonic custom in which the family makes loud sounds so that the child grows accustomed to loud sounds, believing that this act reduces fear and terror in the child.
The feast of Sham el-Nessim is a feast not linked to Christianity or to Islam, but an ancient Egyptian feast, celebrated by the Egyptians since the year 2700 BC. It is a feast linked to agricultural feasts, and it became associated with a social character. The Coptic era transmitted it, then it passed down to today, and all Egyptians celebrate it.
The forty days commemorated after a person’s death is a Pharaonic custom that preceded burial, when it was a period for preparing the body for mummification and burial. It remained present among Christians and Muslims, without any Gospel or Quranic basis.
“..The Muslims took from the Copts some customs in the noble Prophet’s birthday, such as the horse and the bride (arusa). The bride is a depiction of the female saints in Christianity, where the Copts place over the heads of the saints “a halo” — translated into the halo made of crepe-paper leaves over the head of the bride in the Prophet’s birthday celebration. Likewise, the martyrs in the church are continually depicted riding horses, such as Saint George and Prince Theodore and others. So these depictions were taken and translated into gifts of sweets, a custom that still exists to this day.”[3]
The Impact of the Coptic Language in Shaping the Linguistic Identity of the Egyptians
The Coptic Egyptian language is considered the last stage of the development of the ancient Egyptian language, and it forms a principal component of the linguistic identity of the Egyptians. It was the official language before the arrival of the Arabic language with the Arab entry into Egypt. But the entry of Arabic did not remove Coptic; rather, Arabic was influenced by Coptic, and many Coptic words and expressions entered the Arabic language and became part of it, without a third language being produced. The Coptic language is considered an important key for understanding many of the historical and religious aspects of Egypt in general, and especially with regard to rituals.
Many linguistic studies affirm that hundreds of Egyptian colloquial words are of Coptic origin, and some go back to earlier stages. These words are not limited to one field but include the agricultural field, foods, feelings, and even many insults and curses. These words that are repeated on the tongues of Egyptians, which some think are Arabic Egyptian colloquialisms, have clear Coptic origins. For examp[4]le:
| Coptic word | Coptic origin | meaning | colloquial word |
| Toba | τωΒε | small stone | tuba (brick) |
| Banuri | ΠεΝοΥΡι | earthenware vessel | banura |
| Shosha | σωσε | cough | kuhh (cough) |
| nunu | Νογνογ | nursing infant | nunu |
| timsah | τεΜςαζ | amphibious animal | timsah |
Symbols in Popular Culture
All the symbols in the land of Egypt were not limited to being a symbol for one group rather than another, for all the symbols were shared among all. What the Christians popularly venerated, the Muslims also venerated, and what was sacred to the Muslims was also sacred to the Christians. Here it is not limited to the shared religious symbols, but also to many symbols taken from antiquity.
The Nile forms for Egypt the artery of life, a symbol of life, fertility, and goodness. The Pharaohs venerated it, raised it to the highest degree, and made it the god of goodness and happiness, and named it Hapi[5]
And the journey of the Holy Family to Egypt (Jesus (Isa) and His mother) — this story holds great importance in the Coptic Christian heritage and also in the Islamic heritage, and the Holy Quran mentioned it in its verse:
“And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, and We sheltered them on a high ground of firm abode and a flowing spring”[ Surat al-Mu’minun: 50], and “a high ground of firm abode and a flowing spring” is interpreted as the land of Egypt[6].
The lotus flower, a symbol of resurrection and rebirth, is used in ornamentation. The key of life (the ankh) is a symbol of life and eternity and is used in art and jewelry.
The Shared Spirit in the Egyptian Personality
Whoever observes carefully the Egyptian Christian behavior and Islamic behavior will no doubt see a great similarity in everything — in logic, thinking, behavior, and religiosity, everything is similar. The Christian and Islamic discourses almost touch each other greatly. We find, for example, on the level of Christian theology and Islamic theology (kalam): in Christianity there is the art of responding to doubts, and the Muslims also have the art of responding to doubts. The Muslims have the scientific miracle in the Quran, and you will also find among Christianity (Egyptian specifically) the scientific miracle in the Holy Bible. As for the interpretive logic of the Holy Bible among the Christians of Egypt, especially the Copts, it is completely influenced by the Muslims, and the Copts’ view of the Holy Bible is like the Muslims’ view of the Quran, that it is revealed, and that revelation is dictation from God to His messenger or to the apostles in the Holy Bible.
On the level of venerating persons, Christians venerate the saints, and likewise Muslims venerate the righteous saints of God (awliya), and shrines and sanctuaries are erected for them. Religiosity is a clear trait of the Egyptian personality in both communities, for the Christian and the Muslim are both religious to the same degree. What I wish to say with these words is that the similarity does not come from two different sources; rather, the latent similarity in the Egyptian personality of each of them stems entirely from the meeting of differences in the crucible of the single source, which influenced, dyed, and kneaded the Egyptian personality and brought it out as it is today.
Conclusion
The Coptic heritage was the foundation of Egyptian society, being the last development of the ancient Egyptian heritage, and the Islamic heritage entered to nourish the Coptic heritage and bring it out in its garb as we know it today. The Coptic heritage carried all the ancient Egyptian inheritance — customs, traditions, language, and symbols — and was that boat that transported all that was ancient to the present and produced the form of Egyptian society today. As for what I mentioned at the beginning about the influence of Islamic art on Coptic art, it is not a departure from the subject, but to clarify that the Coptic heritage and the Islamic heritage in Egypt today are not two separate states; rather, they formed a unique state in Egyptian society. The Coptic heritage today is not the Coptic heritage before Islam, and the Islamic heritage today is not what it was before its entry into Egypt and its meeting with the Coptic heritage. Thus Egyptian Arabic was formed, where the Coptic and Islamic heritages are a shared heritage for all of Egyptian society.
References
[1] Muhammad Hashim Ismail and Muhammad Abd al-Wadud Abd al-Azim, Islamic Influences on Coptic Architectural Art, Mansoura University, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, p. 759
[2] Youssef Shaaban Youssef Ayoub, Christians and Muslims in Egypt: Shared Customs and One Life, Masress website, accessed on 7/7/2025, published on 5/1/2006, to view it: https://www.masress.com/nahda/1491022
[3] The previous reference.
[5] Mustafa Abd al-Salam, The Nile River: The Symbol of Egyptian Civilization Raised by the Ancestors to the Ranks of the Gods, Egypt Geographic as you have never seen it before, article dated 29 May, accessed 7/7/2025, to view it: https://egyptiangeographic.com/ar/news/show/261
[6]Tafsir (exegesis): And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign and sheltered them on a high ground of firm abode and a flowing spring [al-Mu’minun: 50], the Holy Quran website, accessed 7/7/2025, to view it: https://surahquran.com/aya-tafsir-50-23.html