Loyalty to a group strengthens one’s identity and sense of belonging. Patriotism, he argued, is instead a feeling of devotion for a country and a culture’s way of life. George Orwell defined nationalism as the habit of identifying oneself with a single nation or unit, placing it beyond good and evil, and recognizing no other duty than to advance its interests. The country here does not merely represent a geographic location, but a loyalty to one’s people and their land. Patriotism, on the other hand, is a set of beliefs and attitudes that refers to the individuals’ attachment and loyalty to their country. It defines a particular population and the relationship of the individual to the state. Nationalism can be defined as an ideology that provides justification for the existence or creation of a state. Nationalism and patriotism, although different in expression, share a common basis: the need for social attachment and loyalty. Mina was a patriot, not a nationalist chasing the interests of any one group. His last Facebook status read: “Only the blood of the poor is spilled on this Egyptian soil.” He did not write about a Coptic struggle, as it was not his faith that defined him. We decided that, although we are both against a Coptic movement per se, we would work to mobilize protests demanding citizenship rights.

Citizenship rights of Copts should be tackled through inclusion and not through an exclusive fight, he told me that day. I ran into Mina a week before the October 2011 massacre of almost thirty Coptic protesters at Maspero. Rather, fighting for the dignity of all humans was indeed an ideology, and a cross we were both happy to bear. Mina Daniel and I did not only share the collective identity of Tahrir but also the belief that being Coptic is not an ideology. Mina Daniel, wounded earlier that day, was a Copt who struggled with other socialists for justice, freedom, and above all dignity for all Egyptians alike. On the day known as the Battle of the Camel, at least eleven were killed and over 600 wounded. I first met him in Tahrir Square, following the bloody events of February 2.

George orwell nationalism