Sanne Lundberg’s thesis was about the strong Coptic Christian perception of being discriminated, the interplay of this belief with religious beliefs, as well as their response to the perceived discriminating social system in Egypt. This research was thus not an investigation about whether these perceptions are correct or not but about perceptions that greatly influence the responses of Coptic Christians to existing violence and tensions as well as the growth of the Islamist influence in Egyptian politics.

Her thesis starts with the bomb attack on the Two Saints Church in Alexandria that left 21 people dead. Her thesis refers at several points to this attack and now comes out just before the commemoration of the first year after this horrendous attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt.

See for our earlier reporting on this tragedy:

The context of the brutal attack on a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria on January 1, 2011; Analysis based on 15 years of research in Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt.

Introduction:

This thesis examines the forms of resistance among Coptic Christian against what many of them perceive as a discriminating social system. The riddle of my research is why so many Copts perceive that they are being discriminated against by an intolerant social system, and yet there seems to be little conventional social and political resistance. First, I have examined what factors have contributed to the fact that many Copts have chosen not to resist in conventional social and political spheres. Second, I have examined if their resistance taken another form.

I argue that the reason why many Copts do not to resist in conventional social and political forums is because they perceive that they are discriminated in these forums. They believe that they are being denied political participation. In addition, they perceive that they are discriminated by the judicial system and the security apparatus, which makes them unwilling to turn to these forums to fight for their cause. They believe that this is due to a discriminating culture that has its roots in Islamic ideas that are hostile against Christians. Furthermore, many Copts feel that the majority of Muslims are also a part of this discriminating culture. Therefore, they are hesitant to openly resist in other social forums because they fear violent retribution from extremist elements within society. The final factor influencing their inability to resist in conventional social and political forums is that the Coptic community is suffering from internal fragmentation because of conversion and migration.

I argue that the religious revival of the Coptic Orthodox Church has central elements to it that can be regarded as a religious resistance movement. During the last few decades, many Copts have shown an increased devotion to religious life. This process has paralleled a development of heightened intolerance towards them. In this process, the Coptic community has gathered around religious leaders because they believe that the Church is the earthly manifestation of God’s will. In addition, their religious revival has centered on religious symbols and myths that express a resistance against persecution.