It's complicated. Copts (about 20% of the population) in Egypt are the most direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians. Greeks, Arabs, Ottomans, British, French invaded and took control at various points in between. Arabs brought Islam and Arabic language to Egypt with most Copts being Christian and no longer speaking Coptic (a language descended from ancient Egyptian) today, there's additional tension and politics.
“Copt” means Egyptian and was used by the Turkish decedents ruling class to refer to Egyptians regardless of religion.
So all Egyptians are Copts. Some Copts are Christian
The church, sometimes referred to as the Coptic church literally meant “the Egyptian church” and played a key role and maybe to this day, for example with a bishop sent to Ethiopia.
As for “who think of themselves as a descendant of those mummies?” Pretty much all Egyptians do, the national soccer team is often referred to in Africa as “the pharaohs”. Of course some Arabs Turks Greeks Armenians British and French stayed over the 1000s of years but given the population was already well established over confined space(3% of Egypt is populated, mainly around the Nile and coast) the influx couldn’t overtake the indigenous population.
This is not just some fantasy / wishful thinking either. If you observe farming habits, certain traditions, specific tools, fishing, sailing etc, you can see a very long and continuous way of being. It is called “maat”
Some studies concluded 98% genetic makeup overlap between the ancient and modern Egyptians. There is such a thing as “Egyptian ethnic group”. Travel through the streets and you will see the resemblance. TV shows? Not so much.
With that said, the Egyptian constitution of 1920s declared “the Egyptian is anyone who wishes to declare themselves Egyptian”.
Thank you, I did not know that the Copts are descended from ancient Egyptians. Does any of the ancient culture survive with them? You mention that the language is almost gone, but how about foods or clothing? Methods of construction, or methods of keeping cool in summer, or crafts?
