The American University in Cairo School of Business, Economics and Mass Communication Egyptians’ Perception of the Shias and the Role of Media A Thesis Submitted to Department of Journalism and Mass Communication In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Raya Shokatfard B.S. Communications and Journalism Under the supervision of Dr. Ibrahim M. Saleh December 2007 O ye who believe! Be conscious of Allah as you ought to be conscious of Him, and die not except in a state of Islam. And hold fast, all together, by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah’s favor on you; for ye were enemies and He joined your hearts in love, so that by His Grace, ye became brethren; and ye were on the brink of the Pit of Fire, and He saved you from it. Thus does Allah make His Signs clear to you: that ye may be guided. Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: they are the ones to attain felicity. Be not like those who are divided amongst themselves and fall into disputations after receiving Clear Signs: for them is a dreadful Penalty -105). As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did -An`am: 159). And obey Allah and His Messenger; and fall into no disputes, lest ye lose heart and your power depart; and be patient and persevering: for Allah is with those who patiently persevere -Anfal 8: 46). II TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ V Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. VII Chapter I – Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 - THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ..................................................................................................... 2 1.1 - SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TOPIC ................................................................................................ 2 1.2 - STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................. 3 1.3 - RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................... 3 Chapter II: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................... 5 2.1 - THEORY OF FRAMING AND OPINION FORMATION ......................................................................... 5 2.2 - THEORY OF CASCADING ACTIVATION MODEL .............................................................................. 9 2.3 - THE AGENDA SETTING THEORY ................................................................................................. 14 Chapter III: Review of Literature-Historical Background ............................................................ 19 3.1 - ADVENT OF ISLAM, THE ORIGIN OF SHIA-SUNNI CONFLICT, SUCCESSION AFTER ....................... 19 PROPHET MOHAMMAD (PBUH) ........................................................................................................... 19 3.1.1 - A Brief Introduction: Advent of Islam ............................................................................. 19 3.1.2 - Conflicts in Succession ................................................................................................... 20 3.2 - HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE FATIMIDS IN EGYPT ............................................................. 20 3.3 - HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF GHURABIYYA SECT IN EGYPT ..................................................... 22 3.3.1 - Their Belief ...................................................................................................................... 23 3.3.2 - Other Views Concerning the Origins of the Ghurabiyyas ............................................ 24 3.3.3 - Fundamentals of Faith of the Shia Imamiyyah or Ithna Ashari (Twelver) ................... 26 3.4 - HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF RAPPROCHEMENT EFFORTS BETWEEN SHIAS AND SUNNIS ....... 27 3.4.1 - Rapprochement in the Qur’an ........................................................................................ 27 3.4.2 - Difficulties in Rapprochement ........................................................................................ 33 3.5 - REVIEW OF LITERATURE REGARDING MEDIA COVERAGE AND PUBLIC OPINION ........................... 34 3.6 - MEDIA AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS ............................................................................................ 36 3.6.1 - Problems of Covering Islam and the Middle East......................................................... 38 3.7 - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA ................................................................................................................. 39 3.7.1 - Government Control of Mass Media and the Role of Islam ......................................... 40 3.7.2 - Religion in Regional Politics ........................................................................................... 42 3.7.3 - Internal Conflicts: The Example of Pakistan ................................................................. 43 Chapter IV – Media Research and Reporting on Conflict ........................................................... 46 4.1 - Major International newspapers and Magazines – Online Editions ............................... 46 4.2 - International Broadcast Stations ....................................................................................... 50 Chapter V - Research Design and Methodology .......................................................................... 52 5.1 - RESEARCH STATEMENT ............................................................................................................. 52 5.2 - RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS ................................................................................. 52 5.3 - SAMPLING AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 55 5.3.1 – Survey ............................................................................................................................. 55 5.3.2 – Demographics ................................................................................................................ 56 5.3.3 - Characteristics of the Survey ......................................................................................... 56 5.3.4 - Pilot Study ....................................................................................................................... 57 5.3.5 - In-depth Interviews.......................................................................................................... 57 Chapter VI: Findings and Analysis ................................................................................................. 60 6.1 - FINDING OF THE SURVEY ........................................................................................................... 60 6.1.1 - Findings and Analysis of the Survey ............................................................................. 60 6.1.2 - Frequency Charts, Figures and Tables ......................................................................... 60 III 6.2 - IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS MAIN FINDINGS ...................................................................................... 75 6.3 - DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 81 6.3.1 – Survey Analysis and hypothesis Testing ...................................................................... 82 6.3.2 - Intensive Interviews Analysis ......................................................................................... 87 Chapter VII: Limitations and Recommendations ......................................................................... 89 7.1 – RECOMMENDATIONS: IMPROVING RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH THE MEDIA .................................. 89 References .......................................................................................................................................... 95 Appendix I - Shia and the Sunnis Conflicts .................................................................................102 Appendix II – Fatimids in Egypt .....................................................................................................116 Appendix III – Al Azhar Verdict on Rapprochement ...................................................................127 Appendix IV – Survey .......................................................................................................................129 Appendix V - Demographic table ...................................................................................................135 Appendix VI - Frequencies Charts: Scale ...................................................................................137 Appendix VII- Tables ........................................................................................................................139 Appendix VIII -Cross Tabulations ..................................................................................................141 IV Acknowledgements