Egypt today still uses the Coptic language in orthodox Christianity to distinguish themselves from the Muslims. Let us keep this fact in mind that the Egyptians are not Arabs, but simply speak Arabic as an official language in recent times, since the Koran was written and read in Arabic.
Islam as a religion introduced by Muhammad and his followers was introduced over a thousand years after the death of Jesus and prior to all that time the language of Egypt was Coptic. With this thought in mind let us follow the ancient account of the birth of Ishmael, Abraham’s first born son with the Egyptian woman named Hagar.
The account is given in Genesis 6: 1 1 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me."
6 "Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. 7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur.
From this account, Ishmael would be half Hebrew and half Egyptian from his mother’s side. It can be assumed that the family spoke both Coptic and Hebrew for both the Hebrews and the Egyptians traveled back and forth, from one land to the other.
Arabic however is a language of the people of the province of Arabia, an area which is located south of Asia, which is between the continent of Africa and south of Asia, identified as the Arabian Peninsula. They have no historical or blood ties to Abraham, however Abraham had blood ties to the Egyptians of Africa. The Jews were slaves in Egypt for a long time and many most likely planted seeds and bore children with the Egyptians. Hence it is very likely that many of the Egyptian families are a mixture of Hebrew and Egyptian.
In similar retrospect of recent times, even though slaves were taken from Africa to the Hispanic Islands of the Dominican Republic, Panama, Cuba, and many Spanish countries the primary genetic makeup of the Hispanics remained black Africans. The language of the Hispanics became Spanish but their genetic makeup is still that of those of the Africans.
The same scenario applies to the Haitians, who became slaves of the French but their genetic makeup remained that of the black Africans. The same principle applies to the Jamaicans, Trinidadians, and those that dwell in the Caribbean Islands, that even though they were taken as slaves their language changed to that of the slave owners, but their genetic makeup of all these people remained Africans.
Going forward with this trend, even though the British colonized many African nations, the genetic makeup of the Africans remained black, even though the English language became the language of Education and of commerce of many of these African nations.
Likewise, even though the Muslims invaded Egypt and introduced Islam, the language of Egypt became Arabic, but the genetic makeup of the Egyptians remained African Egyptians on the large scale. All these put together, it can be deduced that Ishmael, the son of Abraham and of Hagar is genetically Egyptian and Hebrew and not Arabic. Hence he has little or no ties to Islam, Arabic, or to the Muslims as claimed by many.
The Egyptians are Africans, not Arabians even though some practice Islam, just as many nations practice Christianity but it does not change their genetic roots. Similarly, many Nigerians of West Africa practice Islam but they have no connection whatsoever with the Arabs. The invasion of a country or the enslavement of a people by another does not change what the people are, but at best modifies the language of those people. May the Egyptians become aware that it was their seed as African Egyptians that was blessed by the angel of the lord promising them that they will multiply across the earth, the blessing was not given to the Arabs.
The Egyptian may speak Arabic but they are not Arabs, just as many African nations speak English as their official language but they are not British. Religion or enslavement imposed upon a people does not change the genetic makeup of those people, but at best it only modifies their language. Ishmael is African Egyptian, but not Arabic.
Ken Nunoo
