Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Satellite Television: A Platform for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Mohammed-Ali M. A. Abunajela This is a digitised version of a dissertation submitted to the University of Bedfordshire. It is available to view only. This item is subject to copyright. Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Satellite Television: A Platform for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt Mohammed-Ali M. A. Abunajela Ph.D 2015 UNIVERSITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Satellite Television: A Platform for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt by: Mohammed-Ali M. A. Abunajela Ph.D A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2015 i ABSTRACT The Qatari-funded channel, Al-Jazeera Arabic (AJA) has been subject to criticism as being in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt. The approach taken by AJA Satellite Television to represent the MB, the Mubarak regime and other political actors in Egypt, during its coverage of four key electoral moments - before and after the 2011 ‘revolution’- is reviewed in this research. Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is applied to study the constructive effects of AJA’s language in an interpretive way (Parker & Burman, 1993). The effect of the language used by two predominant AJA TV programmes, has been اﻻتجاه املعاكس and Opposite Direction بﻻ حدود Without Borders investigated and a number of current and former AJA journalists have been interviewed. Van Dijk’s Ideological Square and Pier Robinson’s Framing Model, in conjunction with Chouliaraki’s Three Rhetorical Strategies (Verbal Mode, Agency and Time Space) have been used as analysis tools to study the process of AJA’s representation of different political ideologies: the MB’s Islamic ideology and the Mubarak regime’s secular ideology. Van Dijk’s Ideological Square helps to identify the boundaries between ‘us’ (the good) and ‘them’ (the bad), and to classify people according to their support of specific ideology against another - the ‘in-group’ or the ‘out- group’. AJA positively framed the Islamic MB movement on the basis that the group and its members were democratic, Islamic and victims, whereas it negatively framed the Mubarak regime and the Military Council in Egypt as repressive, secular and villains. The assigned role of different actors (including; the Egyptian people and opposition parties) in AJA TV programmes changed from one electoral moment to another. While the ii Mubarak regime, its supporters and the Military Council were represented as the ‘out-group’ at all times, the role allocated to the Egyptian people and the opposition shifted between the ‘in-group’ and the ‘out-group’, depending on the political mood they held towards the MB. KEYWORDS Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Satellite television; Al-Sisi; authoritarian regime; Egypt; framing; ideology, military regime; Morsi; Mubarak; Muslim Brotherhood; political Islam; Qatari foreign policy; revolution; uprisings. iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORITY I have always thought of media, throughout my professional and academic experiences, as a powerful tool that can influence the very nature of someone’s identity, beliefs and thoughts. Philip Seib (2008) writes ‘the media can be tools of conflict and instruments of peace. They can make traditional borders irrelevant and unify people scattered across the globe.’ Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s minister of Nazi propaganda said: ‘Give me media with no conscience I will give you people who are unconscious’. The powerful influence of media has encouraged my desire to study this field in order to understand how it can impact the way we think, act and believe in order to determine what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’. I also believe that the answer to either of these, is largely determined by someone’s social surroundings and understanding of it. I have always viewed AJA, since it was launched in 1996, as a channel of pride that belongs to Arabs. It has reshaped the very nature of mainstream Arab media services which have been government mouthpieces and under the control of Arab dictatorships, for a long time. Its daring approach and mixture of Arab journalists from almost every Arab nationality, has particularly attracted my attention. I often watch AJA and have always admired not only the fact it reports the news from around the world in a very innovative and attractive style, but also it has offered me a different perspective of what is happening in the Arab world in general, and Palestine in particular, my home country. It has placed the Palestine cause at the heart of its coverage. AJA’s daring approach, diverse and challenging questions to Arab dictators, and its ability to bring opposition voices to us (including Israeli official voices), have provided a different side of the story. iv I passionately watched AJA’s 24-hour live coverage of the uprisings in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, and elsewhere when the Arab ‘revolutions’ broke out. In a way, I was watching history in the making through AJA, while sitting in my living room. When the Libyan uprising started in 2011, followed by Syria, however, criticism of AJA had increased with claims that the channel was aligned with Qatar’s foreign policies, and was becoming a platform for promoting Islamists, while ignoring secular and other groups. Questions were also raised about its coverage of Bahrain. The channel was seen as celebrating and arguably promoting the victory of the MB and equally challenging any opposing voices to the Islamic movement. The channel received wide disapproval after the fall of Morsi. Its offices were shut down, reporters were arrested and persecuted, and journalists were banned from entry. Ahmad Mansour, for example, AJA’s presenter and an Egyptian national, could not attend his brother’s funeral as he had been declared ‘wanted’ by the Egyptian authorities. All these factors made me ask what has changed? Has AJA’s language changed or is it people who have changed? Did AJA’s ‘revolutionary’ language change after the outbreak of the Arab uprisings or did people’s expectations change? I wanted to study AJA’s language, to dig deeper through academic research in order to understand what had happened to the channel that I had for so long respected, and indeed, loved. I do not try to make a value judgement for or against AJA, rather I wish to offer an explanation of how the channel covered the Egyptian MB in four different electoral moments before and after the fall of Mubarak in 2011, and discover whether the claims made about the channel’s alleged support towards the Muslim Brotherhood were sound. v Studying Egypt is important for me, not only due to its strategic and historic geo-political place in the Arab world, but also because it is located next to my homeland, Palestine – Egypt’s stability means stability for the Palestinian people as well. vi DEDICATION First of all, I would like to dedicate this paper to Almighty Allah, the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful, for guiding me and giving me the strength to accomplish this research. Secondly, I would like to dedicate this research to my loving parents, (Seham and Mansour), who supported me throughout my day-to-day life and education with their endless encouragement and prayers. Thirdly, I would like also to dedicate this paper to my beloved wife, (Sawsan) and my two adorable children, (Haytham and Hamza), who have generously and patiently supported me during the course of my studies and endured my mental and physical absence. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to sincerely thank my Director of Studies, Professor Noha Mellor, for her valuable guidance, support and endless encouragement, and Professor Ivor Gaber for his helpful comments and advice. My thanks also go to my charming family in Gaza, Palestine, (sisters: Fayqa; Nazek; Nehad, and brothers: Abdel-Raouf; Ahmad; Dr Mahmoud and Abdel-Aziz) for giving me their thoughts and powerful inspiration every time I doubted myself, and to my extended family and dear friends in Palestine, the U.K. and elsewhere, for their constant encouragement. I would like to thank Dr Imad Karam, Dr Nael Jebril, Dr Mohammed Alsousi, Dr Tareq Bakri, Dr Haider Al-Safi, Dr Qassem Kassab, Barbara Lohr, Abid Katib, Emad Moussa, Ibrahim Habib, Ihab Anbar, Mahmoud Shalatoni, Maher Kassab, Khalil Lubbad, Hussam Jahjoh, Nigel Gibson, Jaine Magpie, Ala’a Eid, Ahmad Joha, Salem Qudwa, Abdulla Ali, Ziad Mustafa, Osama Qaddoumi, Helen Deller, Paul Rasmussen, Tarik Kafala and Felicity Tessaro for their reassurance, humour, and support throughout my research. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Al-Jazeera journalists who contributed to this research with their valuable testimonies. viii OUTPUT BASED ON THIS RESEARCH Portions of this research have been presented and published in the following output: Research Seminar at University of Oxford, Oxford Media Research Seminars: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Seminar topic: ‘Al-Jazeera and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt’ (20 May 2014) Specialised Workshop at University of Oxford, Pembroke College. Workshop topic: ‘The Muslim Brotherhood’ (24 June 2014) Chapter Contribution: ‘Islam in the news: the case of Al-Jazeera and the Muslim Brotherhood’, in Political Islam and Global Media, Noha Mellor & Khalil Rinnawi (eds.) London & NY: Routledge. ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABC American Broadcasting Company AJA Al-Jazeera Arabic AJE Al-Jazeera English ASBU Arab States Broadcasting Union BBC British Broadcasting Corporation CDA Critical Discourse Analysis CIA Central Intelligence