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LITERATURE REVIEW: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

ON POLITICAL SATIRE BETWEEN EGYPT AND

PALESTINE

Alyazia Alnaqbi

18/10/2020

Introduction

Political satire refers to satire that focuses on deriving entertainment from political situations. In

many cases, it is used with disruptive intent in areas where the political authorities highly censor

disapproval and political speech. Therefore, besides being a source of entertainment, political

satire is used as a tool to advance political debates where such debates are expressly disallowed

(Piet 2016, 303). This review focuses on analyzing the evolution and growth of political satire

between Egypt and Palestine, the impact of political satire on both nations and their censorship

of political satire in both nations. Such review will highlight the role of satire in advancing

political courses, and how satire has grown to become an important tool in advancing political

debates. It will also help evaluate how satire is likely to continue influencing political discourses

in the future. Political satire takes the form of poetry, cartoons, caricatures, and shows. Over the

years, satire has been used to criticize political decisions as well as gain political change (Hasan,

p. 1). The power of political satire was witnessed across Arab nations when revolutions rocked

the region, from Egypt to Libya and Palestine. This review evaluates academic journals,

scholarly articles and books that explain the history and growth of political satire on both Egypt

and Palestine.

The Evolution of Political Satire in Palestine and Egypt

According to Hijjawi (1968, 4), Palestinian literature and use of political satire existed long

before 1948. Hijjawi highlights that Palestinian literature flourished before the fall of Palestine to

Zionists in 1948. Its literature and use of political satire had been influenced by writers from

Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria. However, after the occupation of Palestine by Zionists, the Zionists

tried to erase every trace of Palestinian culture and literature by imposing their oppressive

measures to prevent Palestinians from understanding their culture and literature (Taa 2013, 11).

After the invasion by Zionists, exiled Palestinians established a movement known as Literature

of Exile, whose primary tool was poetry, and used it to advocate for political change. Due to the

suppression of remnants in Palestine, poetry became the most appropriate tool to call for

resistance against the occupying Zionists since poetry is easy to spread through word of mouth

and does not need publication. Among the popular Palestinian poems then were ​The Impossible

by Tawfiq Zayyad, ​A Lover from Palestine​ by Mahmoud Darwish, ​The Exile​ by Salem Jubran,

and ​A letter from a Bankrupt and a Letter from Prison​ by Sameeh Al Qassem. The article by

Hijjawi (1968, 3) is essential in learning the evolution of political satire in Palestine since it

highlights how political satire, especially the use of poetry, became a key component of the

country’s literature and political tool. However, the article fails to highlight whether the literature

achieved its objectives then. Did the poetry succeed in rooting out the Zionists?

The journal by Ibrahim and Eltantawy (2017, 2808) on Egypt’s Jon Stewart: Humorous Political

Satire and Serious Culture Jamming, highlights the evolution of political satire in Egypt and how

it grew to trigger a revolution in 2011. Criticizing the political government has been part of the

Egyptian culture since the era of pharaohs. Despite the existence of oppressive rulers over the

years, Egyptians have always used political satire to point out weaknesses among its ruling class

since the 19​th​ century. For instance, during ancient times, Egyptians relied on satirical

newspapers to pass political whisper, and these newspapers were read out loud in public places

and cafes. At the beginning of the 1920s, political satire was communicated through poetry,

magazines, and theatres. The origin of the use of political satire was the struggle for

independence as the Egyptians fought the British. For instance, the magazine Rose-Al-Youssef

was instrumental in the fight against British colonialism.

The Egyptian media has evolved during the 1990s and early 2000s with satellite television,

opposition newspapers and the advancement on the internet being the channels of spreading

political satire. Besides, Egypt has always had the tools and linguistic prowess to create humor

and satire that is understandable to all regardless of their age or education (Fahmy 2011, 7).

Despite the censorship under Hosni Mubarak’s leadership, Egyptians' use of political satire

continued to grow, and, in 2011, it urged a revolution. Currently, the use of political satire has

been quickened due to the advancement of technology and social media tools such as Facebook,

Twitter, and YouTube. I like this journal since it sequentially explains the evolution of political

satire in Egypt, from pre-independence to the current period. Unlike the journal about the

evolution of political satire in Palestine, this journal not only narrates its origin but also narrates

its evolution to the present.

The Impact of Political Satire in Egypt and Palestine.

In Palestine, political satire has had profound effects on the political class, resulting in regime

changes and in some cases, threatening to cause uprisings. A review of Sienkiewicz (2012, 108)

journal brings out a clear picture of the impact that political satire has brought into the country.

Political satire is dreaded among the political class and always viewed with suspicion. The

journal narrates a political satire program known as ​Watan Ala Watar​, which began airing in

2009. The televised political satire did not last long, the government supported it at initial stages

but later killed it for fear of triggering a political crisis. The government tried to hijack the

program by purporting to support it, despite it being critical of the government. The government

cold-heartedly supported the program to boost its image as a liberal democracy. It awarded

recognition to the program organizers and also publicly acknowledged its significance in an

attempt to show it was government-engineered. Besides, it tried to gain control of the program

through these endorsements.

However, in the wake of the Arab revolutions in 2011, the Palestinian government feared that the

program had a potential to fuel a political uprising and therefore banned it from airing on the

national television. That was after the program made fun of embattled Muhammar Gaddafi. The

rush by the government to control such a program, although it did not succeed, implies the

political influence that satire has in the country (Khamis and Anagondahalli 2014). This​ journal

brings out a clear understanding of the role of political satire in the Arabian region but does not

explain what became of political satire in the country after the ban of ​Watan Ala Watar​.

In Egypt, political satire fueled an uprising in January 2011 despite the country’s media suffering

strict censorship by the government. According to Ibrahim and Eltantawy (2017, 2809), social

media played a primary role in the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak from his

thirty-year rule. Heart surgeon, Bassen Youssef, created satirical programs that criticize the

government and uploaded them to YouTube channels. The sharing of these satirical programs

fueled anger among people, motivating them to stage an eighteen-day revolution that toppled

Mubarak from power. Therefore, it is clear that political satire has the power to cause ​immense

change. Youssef’s continuation of political satire continued to cause problems to subsequent

presidents after Mubarak’s ouster. Youssef continued to satirically criticize Morsi, and even the

interim president Adii Mansour. Morsi was also toppled in a June 2013 uprising. In Egypt,

political satire has been a driving force toward regime change (Khalidi, 2012). This​ journal​ is

insightful and informative about the role of political satire in Egypt’s regular regime changes.

However, it errored in focusing too much on Youssef’s show. The ​journal​ could have been better

if it was well balanced by highlighting other political satires in the country. It is more of a

one-sided​ journal​, which does not clearly explain the role of satire in the Egyptian political

processes.

Censorship of Political Satire in Egypt and Palestine

According to the International Journal of Communication by Ibrahim and Eltantawi (2017,

2817), the political leadership in Egypt has always suppressed press freedom through harsh laws.

That has always prevented the media and the public from openly discussing the shortcomings of

the government. Censorship of the media and limitation of free speech means that political satire

cannot be tolerated. The Egyptian media, like many others in the Arab region, has suffered

censorship by the government by use of libel laws where journalists are easily charged and

convicted for criticizing the government (Shakespeare, p 3). Egypt’s state-owned media had

always worked to legitimize Mubarak’s autocratic leadership and those who rebelled in the

media were either kidnapped, beaten, or disappeared. ​Albernameg ​show, which focused on

political satire, was suspended on CBC and also MBC’s signal was jammed while airing the

show. Throughout history, Egyptian authorities have always censored political satire, and it is

only in 2013 that Youssef managed to revive it. However, the above​ article​ fails to give a clear

picture of what political satire looks like in current Egypt after several instances of regime

changes.

In Palestine, the situation is slightly different. According to a communication journal by

Sienkiewicz (2012, 108), the Palestinian government has been publicly purporting free speech

yet working behind the scenes to control the media. Its censorship of political satire and media

freedom is illustrated by its efforts to control the popular and independent political satire

program ​Watan Ala Watar, ​which premiered in 2009. Initially, the government approved the

show and even supported it financially. However, despite the show being critical of the

government, the government supported it only to appear liberal. In February 2011, the

government ended its support of the show after a string of revolutions in the Arab region. The

show made a cartoon of Libyan dictator Muhammar Gaddafi and the Palestinian government

feared that the show would damage its foreign relations and also incite the Palestinian people. In

2011, the government ordered Palestinians to stop airing the program. Therefore, the Palestinian

government has control of the media and limits the free flow of political satire (Baym and Jeffrey

2013, 106). Through the ​Watan Ala Watar​ program, this journal paints a clear picture of how the

Palestinian government censors the media and political satire.

According to Jayasekera (2016), both Egypt and Palestine have heightened their censorship of

the media and political satire after the 2010 Arab Spring revolutions. The reason for increased

censorship of media and political satire is due to the significant role that these two elements

played in igniting the Arab revolutions. According to the ​International Journal of Press/Politics

by Wolfsfeld et al., (2013, 118)​, social media provided the connectivity among protesters and

helped mobilize protests across the Arab region. Twitter and Facebook were the leading tools

through which messages of discontent were shared to invite people to revolt. Since then, the

governments in Palestine, Egypt and the Arab region generally, have increased their censorship

of the media and political satire to prevent recurrence of similar events.

For instance, in the run-up to July’s anniversary of the Egyptian revolution in 2016, the

government aggressively suppressed all advocates of discontent in the country. That was

informed by the fact that such events trigger protests as residents demand freedom of speech and

respect for human rights. After the 2010 uprisings, both nations have used different justifications

to reintroduce censorship to the press and political satire. Counter-terrorism and national security

laws have been used to justify the continued muzzling of the media and political satire

(Freedman 2012, 87).

How Political Satire Became a Global Issue

The use of political satire to convey political messages and disagreement has been a common

feature since time immemorial, from France to Britain and the Arab world. According to an

academic paper by El Saied (2019, 2), the use of political satire in Egypt and the larger Middle

East originated from France. The study highlights that cartoon drawings were sneaked into the

Egyptian press in mimicry of the French occupation newspaper. The first Egyptian newspaper,

Al Waka’ie Al Misreya, adopted the use of satirical drawings from the French papers (Najjar

2007, 265). The academic journal highlights that many cartoons were copied from the European

papers and reproduced in Egypt’s satirical paper, Al Lata’ef Al Mosawara during World War I.

Besides the 20​th​ century, the use of political satire became global during the 2010 Arab uprising

that brought regime changes in nations like Egypt and Morocco. Currently, the use of political

satire has spread to nations globally, especially with the advancement of social media tools such

as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, among others.

The Evolution of Political Satire from Poetry to Cartoons and Shows

In both countries, political satire gradually evolved from the use of poetry, to cartoons and then

television shows. In Palestine, poetry was the earliest form of political satire and its use became

common in 1948, after the invasion of Palestine by the Zionists. Its poetry was regarded as

literature of exile or resistance literature since it was used by the exiles to air their plight (Hijjawi

1968, 3). Among the popular poems then were, ​A Lover from Palestine​ by Mahmoud Darwish,

The Impossible​ by Tawfiq Zayyad, ​along with others​ (Hijjawi 1968, 9). In the 1960’s, cartoons

overtook poetry as the main tool of expressing political dissent. Cartoonist Naji al-Ali became

popular for his political cartoons that highlighted the plight of Palestinian refugees. The main

character in his cartoons was known as Handala, and the cartoons highlighted how Palestinians

evolved from refugees to revolutionaries. Al-Ali was shot on July 22, 1987 and passed on

August 29, the same year, bringing an end to his cartoons (Najjar 2007, 258). Cartoons in

Palestine continued to be a tool to express political dissent despite censorship by the government.

Shows did not emerge in Palestine until 2009, when the famous ​Watan Ala Watar​ show

premiered (Sienkiewicz 2012, 111). The show, though short-lived, opened the door for more

satirical shows focusing on the political class. The show highlighted Israeli occupation and also

excesses of the Palestine government. Despite the government supporting it initially, it ended up

banning its broadcast under the fear that it would cause political revolutions.

In Egypt, the evolution is similar to Palestine. However, poetry was not a popular tool to express

political satire like it was in Palestine. The earliest form of political satire in Egypt was the use of

cartoons. According to El Saied (2019, 2), the use of cartoons in Egypt originated from the

French, where cartoons were sneaked into Egyptian papers after they were copied from French

papers. The use of cartoons to express political dissent in Egypt has continued even past the 2011

revolution. According to Guyer (2015, 164), he used cartoons to express the pain of citizens

whose relatives die every year as they commemorate the 2011 revolution. Due to political

censorship of the media in Egypt, satirical shows did not exist until 2011 when Bassem Youssef

started a satirical show known as Al-Bernameg (The Show) on his YouTube channel. In a few

months, the show became famous globally and opened the doors for more satirical shows

(Ibrahim and Eltantawy 2017, 2807). Globalization influenced the emergence of shows in Egypt,

earning Youssef the nickname “Egypt’s Jon Stewart.” An indication that globalization promoted

emergence of shows in Egypt. Besides, the spread of the show globally, through his YouTube

channel, made it more popular. Hence globalization as well played a role in popularizing

political shows in Egypt.

Conclusion

Political satire has been a major force in driving change among Arab nations, especially

Palestine and Egypt. The impact of political satire in both nations has been similar though its

impacts have been more severe in Egypt than Palestine. In Egypt, political satire by people like

surgeon Bassem Youssef fueled the privileges of the January 2011 uprising that toppled

president Mubarak from his thirty-year rule. In Palestine, satirical programs such as ​Watan Ala

Watar​ were a major force through which citizens expressed their displeasure on the government.

In Palestine, political satire was in use as early as the 20th century after its invasion by the

Zionists. People used poems to express their displeasure. In Egypt and the larger Arab region,

political satire originated from France since Egypt used to copy satirical drawings from the

French newspapers. Governments in both countries have always censored political satire and

media freedom since they fear their impact. The two nations have continued to tighten their

media control since the 2010 uprisings in the region. Political satire among the two nations is

similar to that of George Orwell in ​Animal Farm​ (1945) since they all highlight the excesses of

the political class.

Bibliography

Books

Baym, Geoffrey, and Jeffrey P. Jones, eds. ​News parody and political satire across the

globe​. Routledge, 2013.

Fahmy, Ziad. ​Ordinary Egyptians: Creating the modern nation through popular culture​.

Stanford University Press, 2011.

Guyer, Jonathan. ​Translating dissent: Voices from and with the Egyptian revolution,

London, 2015.

Taha, Ibrahim. ​The Palestinian Novel: a communication study​. Routledge, 2013.

Academic Journals

El Saied, Nirvana. ​Satire and Protest: The Middle East Through Egyptian Cartoons​. The

University of Oxford. 2019.

Freedman, Leonard. ​Wit as a Political Weapon: Satirists and Censors​. 2012.

Hasan, Hesham. ​Political Satire in Egypt During the Last Decade: A Linguistic

Perspective​.

Hijjawi, Sulafa. ​Poetry of Resistance in Occupied Palestine​. Baghdad. 1968.

Ibrahim, Amal and Eltantawy, Nahed. ​Egypt’s Jon Stewart: Humorous Political Satire and

Serious Culture Jamming​. 2017.

Jayasekera, Rohan. ​The Arab Spring Snaps Back: The State of the Media After the

Revolution​. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0306422016657026

Khalidi, Raja. ​After the Arab Spring in Palestine: Contesting the Neoliberal Narrative of

Palestinian National Liberation​. 2012. https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/25448

Khamis, Sahar and Anagondahalli, Deepa. ​Mubarak Framed! Humor and Political

Activism Before and During the Egyptian Revolution. 2014​.

https://www.arabmediasociety.com/mubarak-framed-humor-and-political-activism-before-

and-during-the-egyptian-revolution/

Najjar, Aref, O. ​Cartoons as a site for the construction of Palestinian Refugee Identity: An

Exploratory Study of Cartoonist Naji al-Ali​. Northern Illinois University. 2007.

Piet, Remi. ​Satire and Religious Tolerance: How Acceptance/Rejection Satire is

Determined by the Capacity of Religious and Political Forces to Agree on a Modern Civic

Contract.​ Qatar University. 2016.

Shakespeare, William. ​“Jesters Do Oft Prove Prophets:” King Lear (Act 5, Scene 3).

Sienkiewicz, Matt. ​Out of Control: Palestinian News Satire and Government Power in the

Age of Social Media.​ Gettysburg College. 2012.

Wolfsfeld, Gadi et al. ​Social Media and the Arab Spring: Politics Comes First​. 2013.