Matta al-Miskin's Spiritually-Based Patriotism: A Coptic Theology of Citizenship

Episodes of systematic marginalization and outrageous acts of violence are carved in the Coptic collective memory. This has often led the political tendencies of Christian Egyptians to emerge from a profound sense of despair and alienation. For long, the Coptic mode of political existence has been characterized by the “martyr-complex” (uqdat al-shuhada) and the lingering question of destiny. Against the backdrop of these pessimistic, self-preserving, and escapist Coptic political tendencies, Abbot Matta al-Miskin (1919 – 2006), the Maqqarian monk, develops a theology of citizenship that promotes spiritually-based patriotic activism. Although his theology has been widely perceived as quietist, a more comprehensive reading of al-Miskin’s thought shows that while he vehemently renounces the political activism of the clerical hierarchy, he equally renounces the political indifference and self-isolation of the Christian citizen. According to al-Miskin, the church should stay away from politics, but she cannot tolerate being “a mother to the coward.”