Post-1967 Egyptians debated Egyptian versus Arab national identity

Evidence

This discussion of the nature and identity of the country—Egyptian or Arab—is one of the most hotly debated themes at the present time. The Copts, as one might expect, are almost solidly in favour of an Egyptian rather than an Arab identity, and indeed opponents of this point of view tend to dismiss it as a Coptic aberration, feeling that this is in itself sufficient to discredit it. It is, however, by no means limited to Copts. There are many Egyptians who begin to think once again in terms of an Egyptian patriotism rather than a Pan-Arab nationalism and to argue, not without some show of justification, that “Arabism” has brought many troubles and no gains to Egypt. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1260

Categorization

• XREF: The Coptic-versus-Arab identity frame parallels the reader’s Said-adjacent literature on how ‘Arabness’ was itself a constructed category serving particular interests — here its Egyptian contestation surfaces.
• DEFINE: Distinguishes Egyptian patriotism from Pan-Arab nationalism as rival identity projects with different constituencies.