The discussion of Coptic issues in the Egyptian media, after the revolution - sectarian and polarizing?

Abstract

During the first two months of 2011, the Arab Spring reached Egypt, and toppled president Hosni Mubarak. After the dissolution of the authoritarian regime, sectarian clashes between members of the two largest communities in the country, Muslims and Coptic Christians, exploded. Before the revolution, Egyptian media was used both by the Muslim and the Christian community to incite hatred towards the other, and thus helped prolong the conflict between them. Media is an important institution in the civil society, and as can be seen, what stance it takes may have grave consequences for the society as a whole, especially in a transition process, which Egypt currently faces. The purpose of this thesis is to determine whether or not the Egyptian print media presents a sectarian and polarized view in their discussions of Coptic issues. In order to conclude that the print media does this, it has to meet these three conditions: present Muslims and Christians as inherently conflicting categories, encourage to violence or discuss issues that seem unsolvable or disruptive. A second objective of the thesis is to discuss the contribution the Egyptian media will be able to provide to the Egyptian transition process. The study has analyzed three Egyptian newspapers: Al Ahram Online, Daily News Egypt and Egypt Independent and their articles covering Coptic issues throughout 2011 and 2012, in light of the three conditions presented above, to determine whether or not they are sectarian and polarizing, and discuss what contribution they can give to the transition process. The findings of the study are that the discussion of Coptic issues in the three newspapers cannot be considered sectarian and polarizing, because they do not fulfill any of the three conditions. The study also conclude that the Egyptian media will contribute positively to the Egyptian transition process, through their diverse presentation of beliefs, opinions and values, as well as their eagerness to deal with a new set of issues with more freedom than before.