Cool thread. Are there OO communities throughout the Middle East as well? You guys have taken the brunt of the Islamic tide throughout history. Like how common is it beyond Egypt, through North Africa.. and the rest of the "Muslim nations"?
Copts in Libya (~160,000)
have been in the news lately for the usual reasons (being tortured and murdered by fanatics based on a bunch of made up garbage).
There are likewise Copts in Sudan (less now that the independence of South Sudan has brought a crackdown upon Christians remaining in the North), who are likewise
apparently some sort of problem for people, despite being there for centuries.
The Wikipedia page on the Coptic Orthodox Church lists something under Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, but the information contained therein is not clear how it relates to the status of the Church today in those places. Suffice it to say, wherever there are Egyptians there are likely Copts, even if they don't have an established church building for whatever reason. As far as the wider Islamic world is concerned, there are Coptic churches or at least congregations in Pakistan, Malaysia (and an associated mission in Indonesia, under HG Bishop Daniel), Kuwait (
Armenians, too!), Bahrain, etc. Most of the Arabic-speaking countries probably have at least some OO presence. I know there are lots of Indians in the Gulf, too, and while the vast majority of Christian Indians are Roman Catholic, chances are there are some Orthodox among them, too.
Coptic hymn "Golgotha" sung as part of Passion Week - Pakistan 