Alaa El Shamy

Abstract

The outbreak of the Arab Spring and the subsequent overthrow of Mubarak in 2011 gave ‎way to the rise of Islamists to power. The Muslim Brotherhood’s regime was perceived ‎by the Coptic community, in particular, as a real threat to Copts’ collective identities. In ‎response, ordinary Christians started to organize around religion as well as the religious ‎group to which they belong in order to manage perceived as well as real fears and ‎uncertainties prevailing at the time. This has eventually incited new patterns of ‎communal political activism among Christians, who seemingly embarked on “street ‎politics” rather than “electoral politics” in resisting the incumbent, which was ‎noticeably seen in the massive protests of June 30th, 2013. This thesis is an engagement with the underlying causes and mechanisms that were ‎motivating collective action of Copts during the Brotherhood’s rule. Broadly, it seeks to ‎establish a linkage between religion and politics. Utilizing a social identity theory and a ‎mixed-method consisting of both qualitative and quantitative indicators, I argue that ‎communal behavior of Copts was basically shaped by growing religious fears shared by ‎Coptic constituencies at the time while the Islamists were in office. Dynamics which ‎were transforming religious worries into real action are further discussed. The current ‎thesis contributes to literature on transition through its emphasis on the causes and ‎mechanisms that construct and reconstruct identities of “subaltern” religious minorities ‎‎(i.e., Egypt’s Copts) during times of sociopolitical transformation. ‎

Department

Political Science Department

Degree Name

MA in Political Science

Graduation Date

6-1-2017

Submission Date

March 2017

First Advisor

Koehler ‎, Kevin

Committee Member 1

Soltan, Gamal

Committee Member 2

Sunday, James

Extent

136 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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