A Journey Through Hell Fire

Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. Part 8 is here. Part 9 is here. Part 10 is here.

Part 11 is here. Part 12 is here. 

 There is also a poem by Khaled.

Part 13 is here. Part 14 is here.

Breaking free from Islam Between Halal and Haram

A Journey Through Hell Fire

Chapter 15: “Coptic Revolutions”

I must state that this chapter has been unexpectedly challenging to write. This is about the second book which had a significant effect on my journey from Islam to atheism. As mentioned in the previous chapter, it was written by the Egyptian writer Sanaa El Masry, and is called The Footnotes of the Arab Conquest of Egypt. The book, chronically and elegantly, illustrates the events that took place after the conquest, and it proves that we Egyptians have been indoctrinated with misinformation. The notion that the Coptics received the Arabs with open arms to help them get rid of the Byzantine estate is inaccurate.

My challenge with this chapter is that it is a long time since I read the book, which is a history book, and which I had difficulty in obtaining.  Furthermore, I could not remember the exact events that took place. Additionally, the book relied on Islamic sources, primarily The Chronicle” of John of Nikiû. So, I will probably just state that the book’s significance was that it revealed that the Arab conquest was just like any other occupation. Yes, the Coptics suffered under the Byzantine Occupation as they had to pay high taxes, mainly sent to Anatolia, where Heraclius, the Byzantine Emperor, ruled. However, to say that the indigenous people of Egypt at the time welcomed the invaders, who moved them from one occupation to another, is just illogical, to say the least. I am inclined to think that the Egyptians knew what an occupation entailed by then. However, as kids, you do not have options but to believe what is being said to you, and the lie just stays with you from the cradle to the grave.

Who are the Coptics?

Coptics have lived in Egypt ever since Christianity was introduced to the country by the Emperor Alexandria in the first century C.E. The word Egypt is said to originate from the word Cuppat, the Egyptian pronunciation of “Coptics”. The word “Cuppat” is still in use to this day, but only to refer to Christian Egyptians. Secular Egyptians who take pride in their original identity argue that all Egyptians are Coptics, as there were no Arabs in Egypt before the conquest. However, it is not widely accepted to call a Muslim “Coptic.” Egypt was part of the Eastern Roman Empire, known as “The Byzantine State.” In Arabic, it is called “El-Room”. Strangely enough, the Quran prophesised that it would be defeated in the chapter named Room, no 30, 2-6

Cyrus, appointed as the Patriarch of Alexandria and the ruler of Egypt, allegedly had a written message from the Prophet Muhammed explaining that he was the Prophet of Allah and calling him to convert to Islam. Cyrus, however, peacefully declined the offer and sent the Prophet two female Egyptian slaves, one of whom was Maria, the copt who would then become the mother of Ibrahim, the Prophet’s only son who died as a child.

The Arab conquest of Egypt took place between 639 and 642 BC by an army of around 4000 fighters led by Amr ibn al-as commanded by Umar ibn al-khatab, the second caliph.

The army was achieving victory over the Byzantines in the Levant on the eastern border of Egypt when Amr asked permission from Umar to invade Egypt. Why? Because Egypt was a heaven. Egypt had the river Nile, the leading player of the Egyptian civilisation. The Egyptians had water and advanced agriculture, something the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula were lacking. These young fighters did not have jobs back home. They were better off being sent to the battlefields, where they could earn their living from the spoils and the slave trade.

Egypt remains under this occupation till this very moment despite around 2000 years of struggle. The Coptics were never happy under the new ruler, who gave them the choice of either converting to Islam, paying the Jizya (Tax) or being killed.

I mention here that one of my own ancestors who lived in Egypt then was a Coptic who refused to pay the Jizya but feared for his life, as opposed to my Coptic neighbour whose ancestor was wealthy and decided to pay his way out of Islam.

As you can tell from my discussion here, the history of Egypt as taught in schools and promulgated by society, is complex and often misleading. It has been informed by the occupiers who endeavoured to eradicate alternative culture by forced conversion, by taxation or by death. Finding out through my reading that I had been subjected to a wrongful notion of Islam and its impact on the history of my country fuelled my growing scepticism.

To be continued …