Since the onset of the 2011 uprising in Egypt, I have perused several reports expounding on the now all-too-common theme of “Coptic flight” in the context of rising Islamist political forces in Egypt. In the last few weeks, Al-Ahram's Michael Adel and Christianity Today’s Jayson Casper penned articles discussing Coptic emigration on the eve of the Orthodox Easter Celebrations. Prior to that, the New York Times’ Monique el-Faizy asserted that Copts had been “flooding” out of Egypt for the United States, specifically detailing the exponential growth in membership of one Coptic church in Queens, New York. Others—including Ulf Laessing, Samuel Tadros, Lucette Lagnado, Negar Azimi, and Meisel Abigail—have all reported at length on this issue over the last few years.
To be sure, all Egyptians—regardless of religious background—are struggling in this current environment of unrest and political uncertainty. Many Egyptian Muslims—no less than their Christian compatriots—are concerned about the implications of an Islamist-led government and considering emigration as a permanent solution to their woes. Egyptians of various religious, socio-economic, and geographic backgrounds—fed up with economic stagnation, unemployment, and instability—are lined up outside embassies in Cairo in the hopes of obtaining a visa and making their great escape. As a vulnerable religious minority, however, Copts—and Egyptian Christians more generally—are contending with added pressures that coerce them to leave their homeland in disproportionately large numbers.
Coptic emigration, however, is hardly a new phenomenon. Rather, it dates back to the mid-twentieth century, precipitated first by the 1952 revolution and gaining momentum during Sadat’s presidential tenure in the 1970s. In the last few decades, the Coptic Orthodox Church—a historically insular institution conceived along and confined to the banks of the Nile Valley—has established a dynamic and robust diaspora with global branches. Thriving Coptic communities exist in Australia, Canada, the Persian Gulf, Western Europe, and the United States, all of which have established spiritual, cultural, and philanthropic institutions intended to preserve their identity and ties with their ancestral land.
Regrettably, Egypt continues to lose out in this process of outbound migration. As Christians continue to flee in response to the current government’s Islamizing campaign, Egypt slowly loses one of its most distinguishable features: its religious and cultural diversity. This trend was set in motion with the 1957 Suez Crisis and nationalization measures which almost entirely emptied Egypt of its once-sizeable Levantine, Greek, Italian, and Jewish communities. The recent passing of Carmen Weinstein, the leader of Cairo’s nearly extinct Jewish community, is yet another reminder of Egypt’s fading pluralism. Moreover, these emigrants—many (if not most) of them educated professionals—constitute an enormous loss in financial and human capital. When they leave, they take their money, tehnical skills, knowledge, and expertise with them. These include doctors, lawyers, professors, pharmacists, engineers, etc., all contributing to the Egyptian “brain drain.”
It is equally disconcerting that the very expression aqbat al-mahgar—Arabic for “diaspora Copts”—has come to assume pejorative undertones in Egyptian public discourse: it specifically denotes those few, albeit vocal, Copts involved in right-wing, anti-Islamic lobbying initiatives abroad. This condition has been driven in no small part by the Egyptian state-owned press’ exclusive coverage of their activities, traditionally part of a broader strategy designed to invalidate the efforts of more serious human rights proponents in the Coptic diaspora. In this context, Egyptians synonymize odious Islamophobes like Morris Sadek and Nakoula B. Nakoula with the “Coptic diaspora” instead of the countless émigrés and their descendants whom have gone on to make outstanding contributions both to their adopted and ancestral homelands. As I’ve argued before, such gross misrepresentations fail to recognize the achievements and dynamism of Copts in the diaspora, which should be a source pride for all Egyptians, regardless of religious orientation.
Sadly, most Egyptians know little about the Coptic diaspora beyond these narrow and shallow caricatures. Few are aware of the development Coptic communities overseas, their history of struggle and acceptance, or their successes abroad which, by extension, beget a positive impression of their country of origin. And while the Egyptian state-owned media continues to showcase the feckless activities of a couple of “lone wolves” abroad, it neglects to detail the Coptic diaspora’s various initiatives in the service of their country of origin or their achievements in their adopted countries. In this context, it is important to highlight these collective and individual successes in order to: 1) remind Egypt’s rulers that they are losing a pool of talent by virtue of their oppressive policies; 2) rectify Egyptians’ perceptions of the Coptic diaspora, which have been invariably shaped by years of misrepresentation in the media; and 3) recognize Copts in the diaspora for their achievements (in the service of both their adopted countries and Egypt), which have gone virtually unnoticed in their country of origin.
Consider, for example, the numerous philanthropic organizations established by the Coptic diaspora dedicated to combatting Egypt’s enduring socio-economic ills: poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, etc. Perhaps the most illustrious example is the Virginia-based Coptic Orphans Support Association (COSA). Nermien Riad, a former State Department engineer, founded the award-winning benevolent association in 1998 to assist orphans and their families throughout Egypt. One of COSA’s many programs is the Valuable Girl Project, a development initiative aimed to empower girls and young women—both Coptic and Muslim—through educational mentoring. In addition, the New York-based Care for Needy Copts provides financial assistance to improve the health and well-being of impoverished families in Egypt while The Good Samaritan Coptic Christian Society serves the needs of autistic and physically handicapped persons in the ancient city of Luxor. In 2009, two Egyptian-American Copts, Heather Ibrahim-Leathers and Elaine Barsoom, co-founded the Global Fund for Widows, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and female heads of households in Egypt and other developing countries. Many others—such as Anba Abraam’s Coptic Charity and the Coptic Aid Foundation in Canada and the UK-based based Copts in Need and Saint Kyrel Trust—collectively raise millions of dollars annually to provide assistance to impoverished and dispossessed families in Egypt.
On an individual basis, of course, diaspora Copts and their descendants (be they religious or irreligious/of Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant rite, etc.) have achieved many successes, and they are well worth noting. Consider, for example, Aida Takla-O'Reilly, the twice-elected and current President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, responsible for organizing the annual Golden Globe Awards; and Emad Yacoub, Founder, President, and CEO of the Vancouver-based Glowbal Restaurant Group, Inc. and 2010 recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Pacific region.
Consider, for example, Bishoy Azmy, CEO of the Dubai-based Al Shafar General Contracting, considered one of the top ten construction companies in the UAE. Arabian Business ranked him as one of the “Top 30 under 30” CEOs in the Arab World; or the Lebanese-born and bred Fadi Chehadé, the President and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
Consider, for example, Dina Habib Powell, global head of Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs and the former Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Powell was also the youngest person to serve as the director of White House personnel in the Bush Jr. administration; and Alain “Lino” Tadros, the Chairman and CEO of Falafel Software, a Silicon Valley company providing consulting, training, and software development services for small, medium, and enterprise level businesses.
Consider, for example, Greg Badros, Facebook’s Vice President of Engineering and Products and a former Senior Director of Engineering at Google; and John Yacoub, CEO of Advanced Circuits, Inc. and a 2011 finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Mountain Desert region.
Consider, for example, Marcelle Wahba, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, from 2001 to 2004; and Gamal Helal, a former senior adviser and chief State Department Arabic-language interpreter. Helal was the interlocutor for various US presidents and secretaries of state in the Arab world.
Consider, for example, Magdi Yacoub, also known as the “King of Hearts,” a professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London. Considered one of the world’s leading cardiologists, Yacoub was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1992 and in April 2009, he established the Aswan Heart Center in his ancestral country; or Wagdi Habashi, a professor of mechanical engineering at McGill University, recognized as one of Montreal's most innovative aerospace engineers. He was appointed a Knight of the National Order of Quebec for his contributions to Canadian science.
Consider, for example, Maryana Iskander, a former Rhodes Scholar and current COO of the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a business initiative that seeks to address youth unemployment in South Africa. Iskander was also the COO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York; and Hani Azer, a leading civil engineer in Germany, and Chief Engineer of Europe’s largest train station—the Berlin Central Station. In 2006, he became the recipient of the Merit of the State of Berlin for outstanding services rendered to the state.
Consider, for example, Naguib “Nick” Kaldas, the Deputy Commissioner of the New South Wales Police. In 2009, Kaldas chosen to lead the 2009 UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri; or Stephen Adly Guirgis, a Tony-nominated playwright, screenwriter, director and actor.
Consider, for example, Sam Aziz, former mayor of the city of Casey in Australia; and Nabil Lawandy, Chairman, President and CEO of Spectra Systems Corporation, a Providence-based company that invents, develops, and manufactures advanced technology-based products. Lawandy is also a Professor of Engineering and Physics at Brown University.
Consider, for example, Fayez Sarofim, one of the country’s most successful wealth managers and generous philanthropist (he is also the grandson of the late Murqus Semeika Pasha, the founder of the Coptic Museum in Cairo); or Medhat Gorgy, President and CEO of Pyramid Laboratories Inc. In 2009, Gorgy was named the Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Santa Ana District Office.
Consider, for example, Ray Sidhom, the Founder and Chairman of EVO Payments International, LLC., one of the nation’s leading privately-held payments processor in the country. Sidhom was the recipient of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Metro New York; or Raouf Halim, CEO of Mindspeed Technologies, a Newport Beach-based semiconductor solutions company that had a revenue of $162 million in 2011 alone.
Consider, for example, Nimet Habachy, a former radio host and programmer of WQXR’s New York at Night (she is also the daughter of Sir Saba Habachy Pasha, an ex-Minister of Commerce and Industry in Egypt, judge, and authority on Islamic law); or Hany Girigs, the Chairman and Founder of SkillStorm, one of the nation’s fastest-growing IT and engineering services companies. Girgis was also the recipient of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for San Diego.
Consider, for example, William Bishai, the first permanent Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV and the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research; or Ramsey Mankarious, a leader in the hotel investment industry and founder of the UK-based Cedar Capital Partners. He was the former Executive Vice-President of Acquisitions & Development for Kingdom Holding.
These aforementioned examples are not at all intended to promulgate any kind of unfounded and obnoxious chauvinism of either the Coptic or Egyptian strand; rather, they serve (as mentioned earlier) simply to demonstrate that Egypt has much to lose in such an exodus, all the while acknowledging the dynamism and successes of Copts abroad, which should serve as a source of pride for all Egyptians.
To be sure, all Egyptians—regardless of religious background—are struggling in this current environment of unrest and political uncertainty. Many Egyptian Muslims—no less than their Christian compatriots—are concerned about the implications of an Islamist-led government and considering emigration as a permanent solution to their woes. Egyptians of various religious, socio-economic, and geographic backgrounds—fed up with economic stagnation, unemployment, and instability—are lined up outside embassies in Cairo in the hopes of obtaining a visa and making their great escape. As a vulnerable religious minority, however, Copts—and Egyptian Christians more generally—are contending with added pressures that coerce them to leave their homeland in disproportionately large numbers.
Coptic emigration, however, is hardly a new phenomenon. Rather, it dates back to the mid-twentieth century, precipitated first by the 1952 revolution and gaining momentum during Sadat’s presidential tenure in the 1970s. In the last few decades, the Coptic Orthodox Church—a historically insular institution conceived along and confined to the banks of the Nile Valley—has established a dynamic and robust diaspora with global branches. Thriving Coptic communities exist in Australia, Canada, the Persian Gulf, Western Europe, and the United States, all of which have established spiritual, cultural, and philanthropic institutions intended to preserve their identity and ties with their ancestral land.
Regrettably, Egypt continues to lose out in this process of outbound migration. As Christians continue to flee in response to the current government’s Islamizing campaign, Egypt slowly loses one of its most distinguishable features: its religious and cultural diversity. This trend was set in motion with the 1957 Suez Crisis and nationalization measures which almost entirely emptied Egypt of its once-sizeable Levantine, Greek, Italian, and Jewish communities. The recent passing of Carmen Weinstein, the leader of Cairo’s nearly extinct Jewish community, is yet another reminder of Egypt’s fading pluralism. Moreover, these emigrants—many (if not most) of them educated professionals—constitute an enormous loss in financial and human capital. When they leave, they take their money, tehnical skills, knowledge, and expertise with them. These include doctors, lawyers, professors, pharmacists, engineers, etc., all contributing to the Egyptian “brain drain.”
It is equally disconcerting that the very expression aqbat al-mahgar—Arabic for “diaspora Copts”—has come to assume pejorative undertones in Egyptian public discourse: it specifically denotes those few, albeit vocal, Copts involved in right-wing, anti-Islamic lobbying initiatives abroad. This condition has been driven in no small part by the Egyptian state-owned press’ exclusive coverage of their activities, traditionally part of a broader strategy designed to invalidate the efforts of more serious human rights proponents in the Coptic diaspora. In this context, Egyptians synonymize odious Islamophobes like Morris Sadek and Nakoula B. Nakoula with the “Coptic diaspora” instead of the countless émigrés and their descendants whom have gone on to make outstanding contributions both to their adopted and ancestral homelands. As I’ve argued before, such gross misrepresentations fail to recognize the achievements and dynamism of Copts in the diaspora, which should be a source pride for all Egyptians, regardless of religious orientation.
Sadly, most Egyptians know little about the Coptic diaspora beyond these narrow and shallow caricatures. Few are aware of the development Coptic communities overseas, their history of struggle and acceptance, or their successes abroad which, by extension, beget a positive impression of their country of origin. And while the Egyptian state-owned media continues to showcase the feckless activities of a couple of “lone wolves” abroad, it neglects to detail the Coptic diaspora’s various initiatives in the service of their country of origin or their achievements in their adopted countries. In this context, it is important to highlight these collective and individual successes in order to: 1) remind Egypt’s rulers that they are losing a pool of talent by virtue of their oppressive policies; 2) rectify Egyptians’ perceptions of the Coptic diaspora, which have been invariably shaped by years of misrepresentation in the media; and 3) recognize Copts in the diaspora for their achievements (in the service of both their adopted countries and Egypt), which have gone virtually unnoticed in their country of origin.
Consider, for example, the numerous philanthropic organizations established by the Coptic diaspora dedicated to combatting Egypt’s enduring socio-economic ills: poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, etc. Perhaps the most illustrious example is the Virginia-based Coptic Orphans Support Association (COSA). Nermien Riad, a former State Department engineer, founded the award-winning benevolent association in 1998 to assist orphans and their families throughout Egypt. One of COSA’s many programs is the Valuable Girl Project, a development initiative aimed to empower girls and young women—both Coptic and Muslim—through educational mentoring. In addition, the New York-based Care for Needy Copts provides financial assistance to improve the health and well-being of impoverished families in Egypt while The Good Samaritan Coptic Christian Society serves the needs of autistic and physically handicapped persons in the ancient city of Luxor. In 2009, two Egyptian-American Copts, Heather Ibrahim-Leathers and Elaine Barsoom, co-founded the Global Fund for Widows, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and female heads of households in Egypt and other developing countries. Many others—such as Anba Abraam’s Coptic Charity and the Coptic Aid Foundation in Canada and the UK-based based Copts in Need and Saint Kyrel Trust—collectively raise millions of dollars annually to provide assistance to impoverished and dispossessed families in Egypt.
On an individual basis, of course, diaspora Copts and their descendants (be they religious or irreligious/of Orthodox, Catholic, or Protestant rite, etc.) have achieved many successes, and they are well worth noting. Consider, for example, Aida Takla-O'Reilly, the twice-elected and current President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, responsible for organizing the annual Golden Globe Awards; and Emad Yacoub, Founder, President, and CEO of the Vancouver-based Glowbal Restaurant Group, Inc. and 2010 recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Pacific region.
Consider, for example, Bishoy Azmy, CEO of the Dubai-based Al Shafar General Contracting, considered one of the top ten construction companies in the UAE. Arabian Business ranked him as one of the “Top 30 under 30” CEOs in the Arab World; or the Lebanese-born and bred Fadi Chehadé, the President and CEO of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.
Consider, for example, Dina Habib Powell, global head of Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs and the former Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. Powell was also the youngest person to serve as the director of White House personnel in the Bush Jr. administration; and Alain “Lino” Tadros, the Chairman and CEO of Falafel Software, a Silicon Valley company providing consulting, training, and software development services for small, medium, and enterprise level businesses.
Consider, for example, Greg Badros, Facebook’s Vice President of Engineering and Products and a former Senior Director of Engineering at Google; and John Yacoub, CEO of Advanced Circuits, Inc. and a 2011 finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Mountain Desert region.
Consider, for example, Marcelle Wahba, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, from 2001 to 2004; and Gamal Helal, a former senior adviser and chief State Department Arabic-language interpreter. Helal was the interlocutor for various US presidents and secretaries of state in the Arab world.
Consider, for example, Magdi Yacoub, also known as the “King of Hearts,” a professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London. Considered one of the world’s leading cardiologists, Yacoub was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1992 and in April 2009, he established the Aswan Heart Center in his ancestral country; or Wagdi Habashi, a professor of mechanical engineering at McGill University, recognized as one of Montreal's most innovative aerospace engineers. He was appointed a Knight of the National Order of Quebec for his contributions to Canadian science.
Consider, for example, Maryana Iskander, a former Rhodes Scholar and current COO of the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a business initiative that seeks to address youth unemployment in South Africa. Iskander was also the COO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York; and Hani Azer, a leading civil engineer in Germany, and Chief Engineer of Europe’s largest train station—the Berlin Central Station. In 2006, he became the recipient of the Merit of the State of Berlin for outstanding services rendered to the state.
Consider, for example, Naguib “Nick” Kaldas, the Deputy Commissioner of the New South Wales Police. In 2009, Kaldas chosen to lead the 2009 UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri; or Stephen Adly Guirgis, a Tony-nominated playwright, screenwriter, director and actor.
Consider, for example, Sam Aziz, former mayor of the city of Casey in Australia; and Nabil Lawandy, Chairman, President and CEO of Spectra Systems Corporation, a Providence-based company that invents, develops, and manufactures advanced technology-based products. Lawandy is also a Professor of Engineering and Physics at Brown University.
Consider, for example, Fayez Sarofim, one of the country’s most successful wealth managers and generous philanthropist (he is also the grandson of the late Murqus Semeika Pasha, the founder of the Coptic Museum in Cairo); or Medhat Gorgy, President and CEO of Pyramid Laboratories Inc. In 2009, Gorgy was named the Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Santa Ana District Office.
Consider, for example, Ray Sidhom, the Founder and Chairman of EVO Payments International, LLC., one of the nation’s leading privately-held payments processor in the country. Sidhom was the recipient of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Metro New York; or Raouf Halim, CEO of Mindspeed Technologies, a Newport Beach-based semiconductor solutions company that had a revenue of $162 million in 2011 alone.
Consider, for example, Nimet Habachy, a former radio host and programmer of WQXR’s New York at Night (she is also the daughter of Sir Saba Habachy Pasha, an ex-Minister of Commerce and Industry in Egypt, judge, and authority on Islamic law); or Hany Girigs, the Chairman and Founder of SkillStorm, one of the nation’s fastest-growing IT and engineering services companies. Girgis was also the recipient of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for San Diego.
Consider, for example, William Bishai, the first permanent Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV and the Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Tuberculosis Research; or Ramsey Mankarious, a leader in the hotel investment industry and founder of the UK-based Cedar Capital Partners. He was the former Executive Vice-President of Acquisitions & Development for Kingdom Holding.
These aforementioned examples are not at all intended to promulgate any kind of unfounded and obnoxious chauvinism of either the Coptic or Egyptian strand; rather, they serve (as mentioned earlier) simply to demonstrate that Egypt has much to lose in such an exodus, all the while acknowledging the dynamism and successes of Copts abroad, which should serve as a source of pride for all Egyptians.
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