The political participation of Copts in Egypt: From the Nasser years to the sectarian strife of the nineties

The   aim   of   the   paper   is   to   restore   the   political   expression   of   the   Coptic  community  up  to  the  end  of  the  Mubarak  regime  through  the   constitution   of   movements,   parties   or   civil   society   associations   and   their  participation  in  the  institutions  of  the  State.  Moreover  it  seeks  to   address  the  extent  to  which  notions  of  inclusion  and  exclusion  can  be   used  as  analytical  tools  to  explain  the  evolution  of  social  and  political   identities  in  Egypt.   Through  the  analysis  of  some  newspaper  articles  and  a  study  of  the   literature  published,  both  in  English  and  in  French,  this  article  will  try   to   understand   what   place   is   reserved   for   non-­Muslim   communities   within  the  social  structure  and  the  political  organization  of  contempo-­ rary   Egypt   and   if   the   political   action   of   the   Egyptian   presidents   and   the  call  to  Egyptian  national  unity  have  brought  into  question  the  ju-­ ridical   and   political   position   of   non-­Muslims,   encouraging   the   shift   from  the  dhimma  status  to  a  status  of  equality.