CAIRO: Telecom tycoon Naguib Sawiris caused a stir when he announced plans to launch new television channels to counter what he described as increasing religious conservatism in Egypt. Sawiris' statements spurred angry reactions and talks of boycotting his companies. Some called on Mobinil subscribers to quickly switch to Vodafone or Etisalat in protest. Readers of Al Arabiya Television's website, for example, commented extensively on the story: few pardoned Sawiris' words as merely his "personal viewpoint and the majority were aggravated by his views on hijab (headscarf). During a press dinner on Monday, Sawiris said that while he's not against hijab and believes in personal freedom, the increasing number of veiled women makes him feel like he is walking down the streets of Iran - not Egypt. Sawiris then announced that he would launch a movie channel early in 2008 followed by an all-news station, expanding on the success of his 24-hour entertainment channel OTV, which hit the airwaves late January 2007. According to media reports, Sawiris said OTV sought to counter the "high dosage of religious and conservative programming on other channels by offering light shows and uncensored Arab and foreign movies. His views on the radical religious trend antagonized Islamic scholars. "People are returning to religion because they are sick of sin and corruption, said Fawzy El Zefzaf, a member of the Islamic Studies Council. "The increasing number of women wearing hijab is a healthy phenomenon and should be encouraged, not disputed. El Zefzaf said while religiously-oriented television channels play a positive role in promoting virtue, they are not nearly as influential on society as "liberal, sinful channels. "Media today plays a more negative than positive role, and we need more religious channels and programs to offset the large number of sinful channels that have a negative impact on today's youth, he added. Media experts had different opinions about Sawiris' plans. "Sawiris is constantly trying to emphasize the Egyptian identity to counter the prevalent stress on Arab or Islamic identities, Olfat Tantawi, a writer and media expert, told Daily News Egypt. "Perhaps the use of colloquial Egyptian Arabic in OTV was the first step in this direction, she added. In this context, it's worth noting that according to World Values Survey, 79.4 percent of Egyptians would best describe themselves as Muslim while only 9.8 percent identify themselves as Egyptian. "Sawiris' statement is in line with the position of the government on Islamic conservatism, Tantawi said, "the only difference is that he has the audacity to say it out loud, while they avoid expressing their secular viewpoints publicly, fearing that they would upset a growingly conservative population. "Because the government refrained from playing a role in religious preaching, the floor was open to everybody to fill this gap, Tantawi said. "Saudi funding was very influential, whether through macro-media, such as satellite TV stations, or micro-media, mostly in the form of cheap cassette tapes sold on the sidewalks. Naila Hamdy, a journalism professor at the American University in Cairo, is skeptical about the role of OTV and the new two channels in countering the growing conservatism. "People pick stations that reinforce their own beliefs and dismiss others that don't go with their lifestyle, she said. "Religious people watch channels like Iqra' and liberals watch OTV, Hamdy added, "Nobody will wear hijab under the influence of a religious program, and nobody will change their mind because they watched OTV. I believe the power of these stations is overestimated. Aliaa Rafea, associate professor of anthropology at Ain Shams University, begs to differ. "These stations have a huge influence on young girls, she said, "I just had a meeting with a girl studying for her master's degree who wears the niqab (full face veil), and she told me that she decided to cover her face as a reaction to a program she watched on Al Nas television station. "These stations are like drops of poison blended with honey. At the surface, they are promoting a progressive approach to Islam, but then they start routing conservative ideas influenced by their school of thought instead of encouraging people to think critically and make their own decisions. Rafea questioned the effectiveness of Sawiris' strategy, which she believes is not the best solution to counter the conservative current. "Liberal channels exist and there are so many of them, but religious channels still have stronger pull factors because Egyptians tend to be religious by nature. "It's important to cater for this innate tendency by launching new stations that address youth with a different approach to religion, she added. In a region where there are 130 satellite channels, according to a recent study, the question is: Can media change how people think or does it simply reflects developments in the society.
