|
By
Vivian Salama
An
elderly man lays bedridden in his lower middle-class home in
Shoubra, a largely Christian neighborhood near the heart of
Cairo. Paralyzed for some 14 years following an injury to his
spine, the man rarely leaves his home, as doing so has become
an unbearable hassle. Until recently, this misfortunate Egyptian
has been isolated from many of the experiences in life he once
cherished: going to work, driving a car, praying at church.
Then, he received word that his dreams would soon be realized.
Father Bishoy El-Antony with an
Aghapy TV microphone. |
“My
prayers have been answered,” the man wrote in a letter
sent to Father Bishoy El-Antony, director of the new Aghapy
Coptic television network, which launched in October 2005. “For
the first time in years, I will see my church, hear its liturgy,
feel its blessing--everything but smell the incense.”
For millions
of Coptic Christians around the world, their own television
network represents a major milestone. Copts, considered the
largest religious minority in Egypt, make up approximately 12.5
percent of the country’s 72 million inhabitants. Another
two million live in diaspora throughout the world. Two new Coptic
channels will target both of these groups, marking an important
step for a minority denomination which prides itself on its
orthodox ways.
“We
need to identify ourselves,” El-Antony explains. “We
need to spread our feeling, to identify the problems of the
country, our problems as Copts. We have to have a voice.”
Currently
broadcasting out of Egypt on secondary satellite networks are
a number of Islamic programs, which generally revolve around
the teachings of the Qu’ran, stories about the Prophet
Mohammed as well as programs teaching youth the ways of Islam.
There also are Christian based networks, the majority of which
broadcast from outside Egypt.
“We are witnessing and living in a television culture,”
explains Ibrahim Saleh, a media expert and journalism professor
at the American University in Cairo. “Morality is the
name of the game -- identifying this greater aura about the
religion and trying to reach out to followers of this religion.”
“We
have a motto that if we are not on air, we are not on earth,”
adds Bishop Moussa, who presides over the church’s youth
affairs. “This is the language of this age.”
Coptic officials
say that for some 15 years now, church patriarch Pope Shenouda
III, Pope of Alexandria, Egypt, and Patriarch of the See of
St. Mark, has tried to contact the Egyptian Ministry of Information
in hopes of establishing a network for his followers. The attempts
were ignored.
Currently,
NileSat, the primary satellite provider in Egypt and across
the Arab world, broadcasts one Coptic mass a week on its government-run
cultural events channel, but Coptic leaders say it is not enough.
They need their own channel.
“We take a stand on a number of issues but they are not
declared around the world in the best way,” says Moussa.
“This channel is a way to declare our stand on certain
issues and educate our people everywhere in the world. You can
reach them in their homes all over the world.”
Pope Shenouda
decided the time was right to establish such a channel as a
private network and in early 2005, the groundwork was laid for
not one, but two Coptic networks, each through completely different
sources.
“I’m
not surprised it has taken so long,” admits Saleh. “Part
of it is a matter of financing and arrangement, starting something
that could work. This is a liberal modernized approach to religion.”
Copt-Sat
The first,
CoptSat, directed by Bishop Marcos, developed through efforts
by the Coptic Council of Bishops to establish programming for
its followers around the world. Financed exclusively through
private donations and church contributions, CoptSat has begun
developing programs addressing the core issues facing the Coptic
community, both in their spiritual and private lives. “Programming
needs money and time,” says Marcos. “I cannot have
something baring the name of the Coptic Church that turns out
weak.” The only way to raise money, the Bishops concurred,
was to begin their broadcasting--not in Egypt--but via cable
providers in the United States. Marcos estimates that with a
target audience of at least 100 thousand families in the United
States, CoptSat would charge a monthly service fee of USD$10.
This adds up to some $1 million per month. The monthly fees
to the cable provider will cost approximately $50,000. The rest
goes to programming--four hours worth, to be exact--employee
salaries, equipment, maintenance, and eventually, to international
broadcasting. In Egypt, broadcasts would air on Sat7, a channel
already airing a number of Lebanese Christian programs, such
as Al-Hayat (Life), and Moagiza (Miracle).
“To
move on from America to Egypt and all the other countries in
the world, I will pay $30,000 more,” says Marcos, who
offered no approximate timeline for when CoptSat would officially
take to the airwaves. “I want to encourage the people
and tell them, anyone who wishes to watch the network should
pay EGP 1 per month. And we will ask churches to pitch in and
pay EGP 10, monthly. It is for the channel, the people should
have a wish to make it better.”
Aghapy
Network
Meanwhile,
a separate, completely private effort was underway to establish
another Coptic network. Under the auspices and private funding
of Bishop Botrous, and with the help of Father Bishoy El-Antony,
the Aghapy network, which derives its name from the Coptic word
for “love,” began transmitting promotions for their
up-and-coming network. With sophisticated, graphics-heavy promos
depicting images of Coptic life in Egypt already on the airwaves,
editors rushed to complete some 80 hours of programming in anticipation
of Aghapy’s kickoff on November 14.
For decades,
the Copts in Egypt have established themselves through print
media. Kerazza magazine, which is distributed to Copts
worldwide, serves as a newsletter on spiritual life and church
affairs.Watany newspaper, which circulates in Egypt,
focuses on more political issues, but does touch heavily upon
Coptic affairs. As for the Coptic networks, church officials
say their focus will be on reinforcing the faith of the church’s
followers, and not converting or criticizing those of other
religions.
“We’re
not going to be involved in Anti-Islamic subjects or in political
items,” explains Moussa. “This is a religious, pastoral,
educational, expression of our views, of Coptic life. It’s
not the goal to convert others to our religion. We want to maintain
good relations with everyone.”
Like CoptSat,
Aghapy also will begin its run by broadcasting exclusively to
American audiences in English and Arabic, with the hope of going
international within a few months. According to Father Bishoy,
the channel will use low-budget production methods: Talk shows,
on topics like women and the family will be taped from the living
rooms of church members and staff members will then edit the
programs, adding graphics and music. Then, according to Bishoy,
the tapes will either be mailed or hand delivered to the TeleStar
broadcasting center in the United States. TeleStar, an American
satellite company, will then air previously taped programs shot
and edited by Aghapy’s mostly volunteer staff.
Aghapy programming
includes liturgies from Coptic churches around the world, Bible
studies, Coptic language classes, biblical cartoons and programs
for children and discussion groups. Father Bishoy does not concern
himself too much with costs, saying private donations--both
monetary and equipment--have covered the channel’s minimal
expenses.
“We
didn’t change anything; we didn’t change our prayers,
our liturgy,” explains Father Bishoy. “So like any
other faith, our followers need to be cared for, and we want
to give them this care through our channel. If we wait any longer
than we have, all the other channels will take over what should
be our viewers.”
Vivian
Salama is a senior correspondent for the Egyptian
Daily Star. She also freelances as a field producer for
the Associated Press Television Network (APTN). Until December
2003, Vivian was the producer for NBC News. Before NBC, she
worked for WPRI-TV in Providence, Rhode Island as a producer
and reporter. She started her career as an assistant producer
for CBS News Documentary Unit and as a freelancer for her hometown
newspaper. Vivian is a graduate of Rutgers University in New
Jersey with a Bachelors degree in Journalism and Theatre.
[printer
friendly version]
|