Sinai People’s Perceptions of Self-Image Portrayed by the Egyptian Media: A Multidimensional Approach

Abstract

The media’s marginalization of the Sinai Bedouins in Egypt could explain the popular image of them as being considered second-class citizens or just as smugglers, arms dealers, or human traffickers.

Little or no benefits have reached the local inhabitants from the development of the Sinai’s tourism industry, and Bedouin communities are largely prevented from working in these luxury resorts. A career in the army is also prohibited, given the Egyptian military’s tendency to restrict Bedouin conscription. Any response to the Sinai’s current troubles must however address the socioeconomic inequalities affecting the local inhabitants and avoid repeating past mistakes that have essentially tended toward securitization of the issue. Although the officials of the Egyptian authorities introduced many symbols and discourses of unity to Sinai people, quick observations show that the development of a sense of belonging at their significant level is almost nonexistent. By drawing upon the established social identity theories, risk perception scales, this chapter takes the investigation back to basics. How Sinai people interpret mediated messages about themselves and how these messages can help enhance their feeling of risk in a country they even don’t have legislation to be the owners of their homes, anxiety, and belonging? Is the media involved in getting some citizens of the Egyptians feel indeed Egyptians and others do not?