Christian & Muslim Collaborations by Hanya Kotb

Egyptian history needs no introduction; alien conspiracy theories and sultry tales of Cleopatra’s milk baths always seem to slink their way into most conversations. But beyond the pyramids, the Pharaohs and the ever-mythologised Nile, there is another kind of story— quieter, perhaps, but no less extraordinary.

Egypt, for all its dynasties, invasions, upheavals, and unrest, has never known a civil war. It is a fact that rarely finds its way into global imagination. How could a country with a long, turbulent history -colonised, occupied, ruled by kings, queens, generals, autocratic rulers- never be fractured from within? Perhaps deep down, Egyptians have always known to see beyond the titles and the faiths. Their loyalty to belief is matched only by their certainty that there is one.

Of course, Egypt is no stranger to sectarian tensions. Muslims and Christians have at times frayed, sometimes dangerously. But time and time again, those moments were met not with civil war, but with a defiant refusal to divide. In the wake of every provocation, from within or without, Egyptians chose to return to an identity more powerful than religion or politics: that of being Egyptian. 

It is a unity of both ancient and modern. During the 1919 revolution against British colonialism, Muslims and Christians marched side by side under the slogan that still echoes across time, “Religion is for God, and the nation is for all.”

Religious differences have at times been exploited and frequently exploited by rulers, both within and without, for political gain. Yet, attempts to sow real division have largely failed. Egypt never descended into civil war, and blood was never drawn along confessional lines. Instead, a lived, if imperfect, coexistence has endured, because unity is not just a political ideal in Egypt. It’s a reflex stitched into our social fabric.  

During the Nationalist Movements of the 19th and 20th Centuries, particularly in the fight against British colonial rule, mosques and churches became hubs of national resistance. Imams and Priests alike urged Egyptians to rise against the oppressive rule, not as Muslims nor Christians, but as citizens of one homeland.

And while many of these moments are recorded in the pages of our history, there is one etched into our memory to this day

The Arab Spring swept through North Africa and the Middle East, unearthing deep fractures and shaking regimes. In Egypt, it triggered dramatic change and prolonged challenge, but it also lit up something running in our blood: the shared dreams of justice, dignity, and a nation worth fighting for.

During the 2011 Revolution, Egyptians flooded Tahrir (liberty) Square as the beating heart of the uprising. There, people from all walks of life stood shoulder by shoulder, united by their frustrations with corruption and their yearning for a fair regime. Protestors were holding up crosses and crescents in their hands and the Egyptian flag in another, relaying the message that this was a shared battle, not between faith but against injustice.

With every Friday that passed camping out in the square, Christians stood firmly, forming human shields as Muslims prayed. Similarly, Muslims honoured that sentiment by forming around Christians as they chanted liturgies on Holy Sundays. 

Cairo did not discriminate between its people when they started cleaning the streets before decorating the walls with graffiti that commemorated this solidarity, and no matter how much they try to wipe the paint and the blood, they will never erase the pride that was once felt in the fight for dignity and freedom. 

In the spirit that still flickers today, Egypt’s cultural identity has always drawn from shared traditions like Sham El Nessim, an ancient Spring festival celebrated by Egyptians of all faiths. And when churches were targeted during terrorist attacks in 2017, Muslims were quick to mourn alongside their Christian neighbours.

It is not that Egypt is free from tension or tragedy, far from it, but time and time again, when tested, Egyptians chose not to fight with one another. They choose to remember who they are; who they always have been.

Standing as a nation that refuses to tear itself apart.