Christian Egyptians, sometimes called the Copts.
The Christians of Egypt are frequently called the Copts. Maged S. Mikhail says that is an unnecessary and misleading descriptor. (*) Copt was not the term that they chose to call themselves historically. The better term is “Christian Egyptians,” as Mikhail argues. The ancient Egyptians of the pharaohs and pyramids converted to Christianity. Several centuries later, Egypt was conquered by the Arabs, and Islam eventually became the dominant religion. Today, the Christian Egyptians are a minority of those living in the Arab-majority Egypt. The ethnic descendants of the ancient Egyptians are alive today as the Egyptian Christians. Their Egyptian language is still spoken and written, though no longer in hieroglyphics. Thus, references to a “Coptic” language are really references to the Egyptian language. The Egyptian Christians of today do refer to themselves as Copts, but should not, as Mikhail argues.
In Egypt today, the members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, or Egyptian Orthodox Church, suffer officially sanctioned and tolerated religious discrimination and other violations of their human rights. (†)