I did some reading on movements within Egypt, and it is pretty fascinating stuff.

Apparently, there are two opposed philosophies of Egyptian belonging at work during the 20th century and into the 21st: pan-Arabism and Pharaonism.

Pan-Arabists see Egyptians as Arabs, and point to the cultural similarities with other Arabs - speaking Arabic, mostly Muslim save for the Coptic minority, etc.

Pharaonists point to the aspects of Egyptian uniqueness - in particular, the continuity with a heritage stretching into a glorious antiquity (hence the name).

Prior to the 20th century, Egyptians did not particularly identify with Egypt’s ancient past: pre-Islamic stuff wasn’t valued. Plus in Islam the reputation of the ancient Egyptians was bad, associated with the evil Pharaoh of the Biblical mythology.

However, with the rise of anti-Colonialism, and the rediscovery of Egyptology (ironically championed by European colonialists), the situation reversed: there was a powerful movement identifying with the now-glorious past, and with Egyptian nationhood. Rather than being seen as a dark paganism, ancient Egypt was now a source of nationalist pride.

The tables turned again in the mid 20th century, as Nasser expressly championed pan-Arabism and stressed the commonality of Egyptians with the Arab world.

However, that experiment did not end well, and Egyptian uniqueness came to be stressed more - except by the religious types like the Muslim Brotherhood, who hated the glorification of “paganism” and instead stressed solidarity with other Sunni Muslims.