Egyptian identity is to a great extent also defined by religious affiliation. Dif-
ferentiation is made between the muslimeen (singular muslim), the Muslims and
the aqbat (singular qibti), the Christian Copts. The state itself underlines this
difference by demanding a corresponding record in citizens’ identity cards.
The fact that many Egyptians today claim to have an Arab identity is
mainly due to the propaganda spread during the era of Nasser. Throughout
the 1950s he called for pan-Arabism to serve his political ends, trying to legit-
imize himself as the leader of the Arab world. According to Nasser pan-Arab
nationalism is based on a unity of language, of religion and of history. For
some years Nasser was successful in creating a feeling among the Arabs that
they should be united and stand together against Israel. Up until the revolu-
tion that brought Nasser to power, however, Egypt was still ruled by a king
and a group of pashas who were of Ottoman descent and culture and who
spoke Turkish in their daily lives. Moreover, the two most important political
parties of that time, El-Wafd and Es-Sa’ad, did not derive their names from
Islamic-Arabic history but from the struggle of the Egyptian people against
British colonialism. Furthermore the names of the biggest banks in the coun-
try, Banque Misr (Egyptian Bank) and National Bank of Egypt, as well as that
of the most important Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram (the pyramids), do not
pay homage to any Arab elements in the country. The forced introduction of
‘Arab nationalism’ at the time as a compulsory school subject resulted in the