The positive mental image of peoples and states is one of the sources of their wealth and soft power. The image of historical states also contributes to building a clear civilized perception of them in the minds of other peoples.

Distorting this image constitutes a crisis that requires those who care about it to find creative solutions and new thinking in using the media to present the true picture, and the story of the people whose mental and historical image has been abused.

Therefore, I have been interested for decades in the image of Arabs in Western media, and I have explained in my studies that the bias of these media against Arabs is one of the most important factors that led to portraying them negatively, building a stereotype of them based on features that arouse hatred and contempt, and justify Western colonial crimes against them.

Western injustice and orientalism

The negative stereotypical image of the Arabs formed by the Western media was one of the most important forms of injustice to which they were subjected since the end of the 18th century when the Orientalists contributed to building this image. Muslims are far from its truth, but it is closer to what the orientalists wanted to see it.

The orientalists' first goal was to justify colonialism, satisfy the Western conscience, and re-consider it as a hero who saved backward peoples from ignorance, by promoting its main idea on which the modern Western colonial wave was based, which is that it carries the historical burden that imposes on the white man to play his role in civilizing humanity.

In order to justify the massacres committed by the colonial powers against the Arabs, the orientalists produced a negative image of the Arab personality, the most important of which were primitive features, backwardness, treachery, cruelty, and oppression of women.

The Western drama industry relied on these features to build an image that diminishes the humanity of the Arab in the Western imagination, and makes the Westerner not feel guilty when he kills him.

He does not kill a human being with full humanity like the Westerner, but he is a human being who is characterized by many characteristics that make him, in the eyes of the Westerner, closer to an animal, and therefore the idea of ​​​​killing at that time is a justified idea.

Justify racial hatred

This negative stereotype formed by the Western drama industry arouses Western racial hatred against the Arabs, and it still fuels hostility, hatred, and feelings of contempt in the West against the Arabs, who are constantly described as backward, based on the Western concept that they presented to their societies, which is that progress means material progress alone.

The production of this negative image forms the basis for war, and it is not possible to separate the drama industry, culture, ideology and politics, and if the European and American armies had used fire to exterminate millions of Arabs since the French campaign against Egypt in 1798 until the American aggression on Iraq, then the drama industry was fighting a war The images and the adoption of an image of the Arab personality justify the extermination of the Arabs with firearms to the West.

Telling the Arabs their true story

I decided to study media in universities, and to strive to build an Arab industry for the media, because I was aware that the Arab has the right to tell his story to humanity and that preventing him from telling this story is an injustice that he is exposed to in full view of the whole world, because that story can present aspects Distinguished and rare for his struggle to achieve freedom and justice and his defense of a system of values ​​and principles that the world desperately needs in light of a world dominated by expediency and hatred, and that this true story can contribute to the liberation of humanity from cultural colonialism and material control of individual Western capitalism, and shows people the possibilities of participation and cooperation to accomplish Great goals, the most important of which is the preservation of human value, dignity and freedom.

And because I grew up, was raised, and lived in the desert, and learned wisdom, eloquence, originality, principles, and values ​​from the Arab sheikhs, I was aware that the Arab personality possesses many positive traits that deserve pride, and that these traits had a role in building a distinct civilization, and in achieving glory and victories.

Therefore, the Arabs have the right to have media outlets that tell their story to humanity, and contribute to building their true positive image. Therefore, I dreamed of creating television channels that present distinct content that shows the history of the Arabs and their struggle, and presents the biographies of their knights, leaders and heroes, but this dream has not been achieved so far. I will strive to achieve it as long as I live.

Bedouinism is not the opposite of civilization!

At the Mass Culture Conference held in Marsa Matrouh in 1989, some researchers who belong to the field of theatrical studies presented research in which they relied on Orientalist studies on the Arab personality and Bedouin life as a state of underdevelopment.

On that day, Professor of Sociology and Conference Chairman Dr. Mohamed Hafez Diab gave me the opportunity to respond to and criticize these studies. I called on that day to establish an Arab scientific movement that would form the basis for liberation from cultural colonialism and Western concepts and from an orientalist perspective, so that it could present the Arab in his true image to the world and reveal important facts that could Contribute to building the future, and among the most important of these facts are the unique distinctive features of the Arab personality that contributed to building civilization, such as chivalry and the struggle for justice and freedom.

At that time, she spoke about the experience of the Algerian Arab tribes, which were led by Emir Abdelkader Al-Jazaery against the French invasion, and how the Bedouin life was a source of strength that Emir Abdelkader used in his struggle and steadfastness against the French army for many years.

It also presented the experiences of the Arab tribes in confronting the Crusader occupation, their role in the army of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, and the role of the Sinai tribes in confronting the Israeli occupation. Focusing on material needs and that they are an integral part of the Arab heritage.

Therefore, it was one of the most important Arab traditions to send children to the desert to learn horsemanship and eloquence, and to discover the horizons of the universe, to live in it as free and gentle, and to defend the land and protect the honor.

Egyptian drama and the character of the Bedouin

Through my studies, I discovered that the Egyptian drama contributed to the formation of a negative image of the Arab character, which led to the spread of racist hatred of the Arab tribes. of the Arab character.

I tried to submit projects to produce series depicting the struggle of the Sinai tribes against the Israeli occupation. I knew many true stories of heroes who played important roles in achieving victory, and these interesting stories could attract the interest of the masses, but my attempts failed.

Jordanian drama.. the need for a new vision

In recent years, I have devoted part of my time to watching some Jordanian Bedouin series, and I hoped to find in them a serious attempt to present a positive picture of the Arab character, Arab traditions and struggle. I will present here one example, which is the series "Nimr bin Adwan".

In my boyhood years, I used to hear from Arab sheikhs talking about the personality of Nimr bin Adwan, whose most important features were generosity and chivalry, and this means that he is a personality that could form the basis of a dramatic action that could attract millions of Arab tribes that yearn for the time of chivalry and tournaments, which could represent This character has some aspects of her life.

Broken hopes

In the first episodes of the series, I saw some positive aspects such as the Bedouin's love for knowledge and his struggle to obtain it, which is an important feature that we can find in the Arab tribes, whose most important results were the brilliance and excellence of many of their sons until they became scholars in many fields.

Therefore, I imagined that the series would start from Nimr Bin Adwan's love for science and his insistence on overcoming his longing for his mother and home and pursuing education in the schools of Jerusalem, then moving to Al-Azhar, and I imagined that the author of the series wanted to focus on that feature, especially since he depicted Nimr Bin Adwan's love for accompanying the sheikhs of Al-Azhar and his desire to He received knowledge from them and that his sheikh asked him when he decided to return home to act on what he learned.

to lead the struggle

I imagined that the dramatic construction could be based on the fact that Nimr bin Adwan returns with his knowledge to unite the Arab tribes, lead their struggle to achieve great goals, and link science with the traditions and values ​​of the Arabs.

So I was patient while watching the episodes, but after each episode I felt disappointed. After Nimr bin Adwan returned to his tribe's home, his uncle asked to hide the news of his return from the tribe and sent him to the desert to hunt monsters to make sure of his physical strength and suitability to be the sheikh of the tribe.

Although I objected to the idea, I imagined that he wanted to link science, horsemanship, and physical strength, but with the successive episodes, my frustration was increasing, because there was no effect of his knowledge on his positions, and he relies on his physical strength, so he participates in his tribe’s invasion of other tribes and the plundering of their sheep and camels, and this constitutes A negative image that does not differ from that depicted in Western drama, which is unreal events.

The love story of Nimr bin Adwan

The series then focused on the story of Nimr bin Adwan's love for "Wadha", which he saw on the spring and she belonged to another tribe, so he went to propose to her from her family and marry her.

I imagined that the author would proceed from that to portray the struggle of Nimr bin Adwan to unify the Arab tribes, and build relations between them based on cooperation and participation, but that did not happen, so the series focused on depicting the story of Nimr’s love for “Wadha” in an exaggerated way, and here I imagined that he wanted to emphasize Arabs protect the dignity of women, and deal with them in a way that guarantees them many rights that Western women do not enjoy.

The series focused on Nimr’s treatment of his wife in a dignified manner, but the episodes continued to reveal that he neglected his dignity in many situations, as he fell ill because she got angry with him because of a rumor about his marriage to another woman, and she decided to leave him, but she visits him while he is sleeping, and he becomes confused after To wake up and not find her, was that a dream or reality, which prompts the men of the tribe to mock him.

This situation has no dramatic justification, and I do not think it is realistic, as the dignity of an Arab is dearer to himself than love and life itself.

Then how can an Arab woman accept the insult to the dignity of her husband and her beloved, the honorable knight!

Thus, the series - due to its focus on the love story - lost opportunities to portray the positive aspects of Nimr bin Adwan's life as a model for the personality of the learned Bedouin knight who defends truth and justice.

Connecting drama with science

This model demonstrates the need for a close link between drama and science, and for drama makers to seek help from experts in mental images who can provide a vision that leads to rationalizing dramatic construction and transforming drama into a source of strength for the nation.

Drama is not just an art or a means of entertainment, but it can form a basis for building the future when it restores to the Arab pride in his personality as a fighter for freedom, and restores to him the love of Arab civilization, its values ​​and principles, so the nation needs a Bedouin drama with a new vision that contributes to telling the stories of the struggle to build Civilization and liberation from colonialism, therefore, drama must be linked to the science that defines goals for its makers, and how to defend personality and identity.

There is a need to establish companies to produce Bedouin dramas, not with the aim of producing series for entertainment, but to produce series, documentaries and narrative films that contribute to building a positive image of the Arab personality.

The nation also needs new television channels that tell the Arab story, and turn it into a source of strength for the nation and a means of liberation from the racist myths created by colonialism and orientalists.. But how?