Of all the facets of everyday life that affect the Arab population, none is more pervasive than the charged political landscape that carries societal repercussions. The twentieth century is arguably the most contentious with regards to shifting alliances and the subsequent formation of ideological movements that became entrenched in the collective psyche. Moreover, the bloodied battlefield abruptly moved to the sphere of cultural production when physical combat proved all too exhaustive and a space of recurrent failures. It was a period of unapologetic retaliation and the weapon of choice was the expressive word be it written or spoken. This paper seeks to delve into the latter by looking into the inner workings of the Voice of the Arabs radio service insofar as the mode of resistance employed. By teasing out pivotal junctures of pointed Western characterization and criticism, it can be perceived as a deeply influential entity. The transnational platform was inextricably linked to the alienating era of modernity that produced it. There was nothing for the defeated subaltern but to feel resentment and perch itself atop a hill that would project a repeatedly silenced voice. Industrialization brought a continuous cycle of death and destruction which inspired inherent cynicism to come to the fore. This study argues that the media tool was effectively able to present itself as an embodiment of occidentalism under the banner of Arab nationalism and unanimity through a transparently rejectionist approach. 

A total of three critical theories will be utilized to support this argument with the first being agency to establish the capability to take action. This is a liberty that cannot be understated when it comes to the realization of the othering process since there cannot conceivably be any form of hindrance restricting the subject. Afterwards, the notion of subjectivity will be discussed to confirm the presence of personhood and an internally defined perspective. It is imperative that a developed sense of self is in existence against which the opposing other is compared. This is then followed by applying alterity, showcasing the seminal difference between the Voice of the Arabs radio service and Western object allowing for the construction of identity. They will all be presented through the educated viewpoint of German philosopher Immanuel Kant and come together to make a case for the occidental nature of the chosen medium. These main concepts are ultimately essential if it is to be given this label as occidentalism requires the free will to declare a set of opinions, the ability to recognize the self and lastly distinguish it from the other. It is a rudimentary set of criteria without which the enabling atmosphere would not be created that permits hostile discourse aimed at the West. The stage is subsequently set for this to happen. 

 The methodology that will be employed begins with a contextual mapping of the period in question and historicization of the programmatic content. This will serve as a comprehensive explanation of the political backdrop. Consequently, the mode of operation that was put into effect contemporaneously can perhaps be interpreted as largely justifiable. What will succeed is a thorough analysis of three extrapolated facets of the Voice of the Arabs radio service so as to anchor it in an occidental positionality. The first is diving into the parallelism of the founding of the medium of communication and start of the Gamal Abdel Nasser presidency. It existed as a situation that was, without a doubt, conditioned and a marriage of two social units that ensured political dissonance against the Western hegemon. The second point is the divisive rhetoric, turns of phrase and chastening tone which color a sizable proportion of the broadcasts thereby reverberating a message of defiance. There is no sense of fear in this symbolic projection of reclaimed authority that is meant to embolden Arab listeners. No intermediary exists between the radio personalities and implied audience additionally who are foreign powers desiring to extend their reach to the general public. Whether through direct or indirect messaging, the programs seemed to have followed a carefully curated propaganda strategy. The third and final reason is due to the visual dimension as in how it chose to aesthetically display itself. Surely, it is just as impactful as the previous two and a powerful example is using the melodic voice and electrifying stage presence of Umm Kulthum to portray the essence of the radio station. Theoretic application onto the abovementioned will take place before the final step of exploring the information to introduce a holistic image of this invaluable instrument as an occidental incarnation. 

Nothing about the Egyptian sentiment towards the other indicated that it was favorable of repeated exploitation in the phase that followed the forceful uprising. This was a turning point as far as speaking truth to power. Furthermore, the year of 1952 encapsulates a concentration of control that “soon came to be based on a more anti-Western foreign policy attitude, culminating in the Suez Crisis of 1956. Thereafter, Cairo began to promote revolution in the wider Arab region” (James ix) and it is no wonder given the political history of the capital at the time. Being at the helm of a battered and broken area of the world thrust the responsibility of retaliation upon this strategically important nation. There had been a string of losses that reached a critical mass when demoralization festered, the Arabs needing to unite in the face of a common enemy. Undeniably, this can be regarded as the dawning of a new age wherein there would be a paradigm shift in how the problematic relationship is conducted. It is very much tied to the nationalization efforts and denunciation of imperialism by Abdel Nasser and the epoch was terminated upon his death. 

This is precisely why his tenure as president is indispensable to the character and tenor of the Voice of the Arabs radio service which would not have been the same. Unification was his end goal and human ingenuity was in a position to assist him. Being able to disseminate a radical message using fiery language with the aid of new radio technology surely energized him. It had the real potential of creating a shared Arab identity. It swept across the region and was a blatant propaganda tool even to the extent of beating the drums of battle. An accurate example showing this is when “on 20 May, Saad El-Din Shazly, commander of a Special Forces unit in Sinai, was given an offensive mission plan involving an advance through Israel. The Voice of the Arabs radio service was ordered to heat it up in preparation for war. Five days later, Marshal Amer told the presenter Ahmed Said that an Egyptian first strike was imminent, and they needed to be prepared to relocate if their transmitters were targeted. On 25 May, therefore, everything was in train for an attack at daybreak on 27 May” (James 114). Playing such a decisive role in domestic and regional politics was hence the mainstay of their programs and the mandate was made clear from the very beginning. Nothing would cause them to waiver their support. Every evocative word about the Western adversary would be dripping with cynicism. By doing so, they are capable of crafting a narrative to counter the one in existence that had laid bare their weaknesses. The years to come saw territorial ambitions rise which were made more resilient by this biased medium. 

Something that must be taken into consideration is the reasoning behind the volatile stance that came to define Egypt and was anything but sudden. Several momentous occasions had transpired and led to the brazen personality that was adopted by senior leadership and what they ended up manufacturing was a damaged self. When hypothesizing on and coining a phrase about this subject matter, Amin Maalouf states that “people often see themselves in terms of whichever one of their allegiances is most under attack…and then, whether it relates to colour, religion, language or class, it invades the person’s whole identity. Other people who share the same allegiance sympathise; they all gather together, join forces, encourage one another, challenge the other side. For them, asserting their identity inevitably becomes an act of courage, of liberation” (26). Symbolizing a sizable percentage of the Arab populace, Abdel Nasser suffers from a wounded identity and wants to avenge a dismal past in the Middle East. This calls for complete and total isolation from the occidental culture that wreaked havoc on his own and bringing in a militaristic element to fight fire with fire. So the state apparatus is driven to extremism and is in the business of producing killers to preserve the right to live with dignity. Others may not view them as such depending on an ethnic positionality. They are heralded as conquering heroes. 

Chief amongst the reasons to behold the radio station with an occidental lens is the emerging power of Nasserism, a socialist ideology with an impact which cannot be understated, that thrived on responding to and forming ideological representations of the West. It would be safe to presume it would not have been founded otherwise. The general consensus was that the main objectives it worked on “were to liberate the Arab people; to unite the Arab countries; to liberate Arab resources from imperialism’s grasp; and to encourage the use of those resources for the development of Arab civilisation, science and culture” (James) to lift their people upwards. This would simultaneously require denigration of the untrustworthy other. Listening to the melodic voice of Umm Kulthum or tuning into an engaging radio drama does more than just offer an escape to the attentive audience. These performances are explicitly envisioned as appropriate alternatives to and of far greater superiority than any Western offering. After all, promoting the arts is a potent method with which to elevate a culture to a heightened level. People will swell with unspeakable pride and begin to involuntarily dismiss what is outside of themselves.

Ever the provocateur of debate surrounding regional issues, it espoused a central image that even the invasive opponent scrutinized as an existential threat to survival. A process of legitimation by the other does much to attach credence in this case. This is accomplished when a course of action taken by the subordinate possesses the ability to rattle his superior. Mentioning the Summary of World Broadcasts records by the British Broadcasting Corporation is what Nawal Musleh-Motet uses to show that “although they are not part of the academic literature as such, these English language transcripts of Sawt Al-Arab and Radio Cairo’s transmissions are an invaluable resource for any historian concerned with Egyptian broadcasting. Because it is believed that any documents or recordings pertaining to Sawt Al-Arab were likely destroyed after Nasser’s death, these transcripts – while only documenting a few hours of Radio Cairo’s services’ daily transmissions – serve as the greatest standing record of Egypt’s most notorious radio broadcasts” (8) and this indicates that they retain optimum authenticity. In other words, all of what was put together in terms of content is an objectively significant resource that maps the political terrain of the country during this encounter. It was one in which both sides tried to seize control of the national trajectory. Occidentalism was the sword that was brandished in response to frequent attempts at weakening the resolve of the new government. There is no better way to sway public opinion against a foreign aggressor. The presenters eventually succeeded and the act of maintaining the transcripts is not merely a nominal endeavor but one of attaching them to proven norms and values. A message on it being a purveyor of occidental logic is being sent.

What emerges out of this assessment is a deeper understanding of how the Voice of the Arabs radio service had a unique theoretical underpinning. The convening power that it amassed is linked to rational agency in creating an atmosphere whereby it is respected. In this regard, Mustafa Emirbayer and Ann Mische convey that Enlightenment thinkers approached the concept of freedom “as the ascendancy of conscience and moral will, of a self-legislating morality. Their perspective underscored the importance of the transcendental imagination as well as that of instrumental reason. These two points of view both found their way into Kant’s critical philosophy, which saw freedom as normatively grounded individual will, governed by the categorical imperative rather than by material necessity” (965). This effortlessly explains the matter at hand since the presence of sheer determination in changing the status quo was part and parcel of the success that materialized. A good amount of agency was applied to have more leverage that was achieved through the internationalization of societal norms. These were along the lines of rejecting Western pressure so the radio station struck gold in terms of tapping into a market that was all ears already. It would follow that this gave them the fortitude to persecute the colonialist on a massively public forum where nothing is hidden and the truth is not bent. 

The second justification is having to do with the linguistic component that did not mince words in attempting to discredit the legitimacy of the foreign rival. Gone was the era when there would be nothing but empty platitudes in response to open discrimination and assault. There was perhaps not enough clout, naturally when comparing them, that could have energized the Arabs to challenge the military might of the West but being vocal was a profitable avenue. State media echoed the talking points of the rebellious state and a charge was leveled on the American side in particular in early 1967 which “had developed a sinister dangerous complex, consisting of economic and psychological warfare, the hatching of plots and assassinations and a basic and fundamental reliance on secret activities…even at the height of the confrontation with Israel that May, the Voice of the Arabs would retain its priorities. We challenge you, Israel, it announced, before changing its mind. No, in fact, we do not address the challenge to you, Israel, because you are unworthy of our challenge. But we challenge you, America” (James 96). This is a departure from the language of old and occidental to the degree that the chosen representations sent out to greater society depict the other in unfavorable terms. Ideologically, it is a focused movement championing and concerning itself with the dehumanization of a belligerent occupier that had done the very same for centuries on end. It is able to do so without having to be physically located there because of the compact microcosm that came right to their doorstep.

This also expanded into programmatic territory as much of the set content of the radio station explicitly singled out the Western counterpart. One need not look past the derogatory titles to understand how the broadcasting landscape pushed a certain narrative. Committing to this responsibility that it had shouldered was so serious in fact that animosity was starting to form between supposed Arab brethren. A perfect example is when Abdel Nasser unashamedly accused Saudi Arabia and Jordan of sponsoring global imperialism. When King Saud diminished in the eyes of the Egyptian public and lost personal influence, his brother “Prince Faisal, received the doubtful honour of being the addressee of an ongoing open letter roundly condemning his personal life and policies on the Voice of the Arabs Enemies of God programme throughout much of 1962. The king himself was constantly accused of financial and moral corruption” (53) so there was no escaping their wrath. To give the program this name is suggestive of how the presenters thought the other fared as regards to spirituality, the conclusion being that they lacked any semblance of it and did not fall back on a set of values. The implied message is that the Middle Eastern people are the singular friends of the supreme being. This thereby creates a distinction of epic proportions that justifies every subsequent accusation to their minds. 

Subjectivity is the vessel through which the bold and ensconced negativity protruding from the Voice of the Arabs radio service passed. It was arguably predicated on this fact alone so the conscious experiences with and beliefs held about the West must be studied. The truth in this radical equation, from the perspective of the essential self, is that these outsiders are a source of unreserved humiliation and cannot be trusted under any circumstance. According to Andrew Bowie who echoes the spirit of Kant on this topic, he insists that “we can only know the world as it appears to us via the constitutive a priori categories of subjectivity which synthesise intuitions into cognisable forms. The world as an object of truth is therefore actively constituted by the structures of the consciousness we have of it, which means that we cannot know how the world is in itself” (17). Using the subject as a frame of reference to determine how the world appears is indeed what each of the broadcasts based their methodologies on. The complex feelings harbored colored every single utterance and interaction. So there is a clear judgement issued by the court of public opinion against the external phenomenon that is hegemonic mockery. Such is the reality that is unconditionally trusted. Not much less can encroach upon this line of thinking.

Looking into the visual factor is the third cause despite the obvious paradox of being limited by audio capabilities but it goes beyond pictorial representations. It can take several forms and people are still able to turn artistic imagery into iconic ideographs that inspire actions and interactions within themselves. The other senses are just as responsive to being inundated with cultural markers and this, after all, was an age when the power of celebrity was rapidly on the rise and leaving an indelible impression. Oratory hostile to the Western superpower is unassuming and implicit in this way nonetheless entirely effective. This was also a time when popular music was arguably far more meaningful. Often was the case that the radio station “used highly emotive rhetoric, combined with music from such iconic singers as Umm Kulthum, to draw in its listeners. People used to have their ears glued to the radio, remembered the Nasserist Abdullah Sennawi, particularly when Arab nationalist songs were broadcast calling Arabs to raise their heads and defend their dignity and land from occupation” (James). Lyrics would be written with accuracy to arrive at the intended meaning of celebrating the Arab nation and holding steadfast the dream of triumph. Listening to such passion in connection to ethnic pride would lead to a state of excitement that is ripe for the picking. A litany of programs would then commence that moved the atmosphere into a space of unambiguous commentary. Nothing that was put on the air did not bow down to the principal aim of belittling the other and elevating the self to a place of dominance. It was empowerment that was totally coming from within. 

Another key presence having to do with what is visible of the Voice of the Arabs radio service is the first director it had as well as main announcer. He was the undisputed embodiment of the sociopolitical trajectory that was formed from the outset and the platform would simply not have been the same without his involvement. In an interview commemorating the death of Ahmed Said with Al-Ghad Channel, current director Lamia Mahmoud spoke of his “electrifying media vigor and incredibly enlightened thinking…he has many instances in his professional broadcasting career from 1953 to 1967 during the regional Arab tide and freedom movements to end occupation and ignorance in which he was a leader. He would travel extensively across the Middle East for the sake of these imperative issues. Ahmed Said wrote a number of memoirs, not personal ones as much as they were cases that he would analyze as an eyewitness” (Alghad TV) so this was a personality who was greatly invested in the Arab cause. In an evolving epoch when communicative media was at the stage of infancy, radio did not face much stiff competition and commanded the narrative completely. He was the occidental face of his and other Arabic language radio stations possessing the fortitude to and insistence on tangibly following the news. He used his signature voice to deliver the famous line that calls on the Arab nation from the heart of Cairo to stay the course and believe that change is imminent. There is no doubt that his image was and continues to be associated with putting down the audacious enemy to uplift his people. 

Otherness is evident when the visual features of this astute medium are studied closely owing to the fact that they are a natural extension of an established message. The radio station is fully engaged in discrediting the West and will go down any road that seamlessly creates that opportunity for there to be more of a seismic rift. Attaching credibility to graphic symbols is important because of the weight that they carry in transmitting an occidental dichotomy of sorts which is immediately perceptible. The Arab self is empathically trying to set itself apart from everything that the other side exemplifies the world over. Their confident I will proudly show their indigenous countenance, speak their native tongue and embrace their untainted cultural practices of old, the same not able to be said of the they who have none of what they do. This is at least the vigorous disposition that colors the purview of the defiant presenters. Something that Mark Cauchi wants to impart in relation to the notion of that which is outside of convention is “to point out that Kant locates reason at the foundation of all experience, phenomenal and noumenal, and therefore that alterity is logically subsequent to it” (130). Every action that is taken by the Egyptian regime, down to the verbal disparaging of the nemesis at the hands of presenters commanding the airwaves, can be traced back to experience. They had gone through trials and tribulations as statesmen as well as private citizens. The alterity that they showcase is undoubtedly based upon a process of reasoning after being exposed to the other in which they end up actively isolating them. Only the prey can be human whilst the predatorial assailant does and cannot be looked upon as such because of a laundry list of transgressions. It then follows that every state institution would work towards making that difference the overall rule of thumb.

Counter discourse was being framed as far as the tenets of orientalism and what they perpetrated against the social character of the region. The Voice of the Arabs radio service had a retaliatory commandment to deliver that was reliant upon occidental ideals. By virtue of the definition alone, this is a suitable characterization because there is outright rejection of political processes and material objects coming from that part of the world. These and other intrusive imports were, for all intents and purposes, not causing exponential improvements as it was quite the contrary as concerns the societal backdrop. Morale was regularly low and the consensus was to cling to any materialization of a nationalist project that would reclaim lost dignity. It stepped in to fill the void and breathed life into what was viewed as a worthy fight. The impression that was finally disseminated was one wherein the West was portrayed as a civilization of dictatorial colonialists who lack emotion and come across as highly mechanical. Once more, this situates it at the forefront of occidentalism. This had become the solitary imagining of the term going into the latter half of the twentieth century what with the escalation of hostilities committed by the other with very little room left for genuine appreciation. Location plays a supremely vital role in addition because Middle Easterners are only ever on the receiving end so are not as exposed to the banal reality one would encounter on their turf. They would mostly be subjected to violence in the form of artillery and infantry weapons which created an understandably jaded reaction. 

So much of the calculation related to the existence of the radio station was to fend off and keep the foe at bay that it was not the same again after a crushing defeat. Rhetoric had been geared towards vanquishing any kind of militaristic opposition that reached a considerable peak during the first decade or so of being operational. Using this as a watershed moment pertaining to the legacy left behind, Kamel Labidi maintains “the station’s eroding popularity as the result of a lack of an Egyptian leadership role after Nasser’s death. However, Arab nationalists like Sennawi play down the fact that Sawt Al-Arab’s credibility was shattered after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Ironically, Arabs learned of the humiliating Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza from Western media. Sawt Al-Arab ignored the defeat, trumpeting fictitious Egyptian military successes over Israel” (2) and they could not recover and recapture their captivation of society. Everything virtually vanished as soon as it was no longer possible for them to antagonize the Western other. It was the perfect foil for generating admiration and seemingly the only one available. Impact promptly deteriorated inside their home country amounting to a platform vying for attention in a crowded market.

Combining the ability to answer boldly every foreign effort that was meant to undermine Arab sovereignty with how the self and other are pictured explains the storyline of the Voice of the Arabs radio service accurately. Indisputably, it was a vehicle for conceptualizing the West in their eyes and the presenters waxed philosophical to that end every day. It is uncertain where the determining setback that occurred left regional identity but what is guaranteed is that it caused the collective to withdraw into itself. Political complications in the decades since then have not brought them any closer to a definitive resolution. Their resolve to engage in a tit for tat strategy did not decline but even more humiliations made it difficult to reason that the domineering other could ever be overpowered as a result of doing so. The occidental connotation that it set out to attach to each and every program effortlessly came across nonetheless. They ought to seriously be considered as an example of the ideological grouping of the highest level. Archival materials have still even more to prove in this regard and would steer the conversation towards other influential methods used to negatively describe the enemy. New light will be shed on the scope of the bearing it had on the global community which is part of the history of the region.

1. Alghad TV. “Sawt Al-Arab: Broadcaster Ahmed Said Was a Scapegoat for Naksa Media.” YouTube, commentary by Lamia Mahmoud, 5 June 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0plwmKNFUes.

2. Bowie, Andrew. “Modern Philosophy and the Emergence of Aesthetic Theory: Kant.” Aesthetics and Subjectivity: from Kant to Nietzsche, edited by Liz Bradbury, 2003, pp. 16-48. 

3. Cauchi, Mark. “Unconditioned by the Other: Agency and Alterity in Kant and Levinas.” Idealistic Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, 2015, pp. 125-147. Academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/20064668/Unconditioned_by_the_Other_Agency_and_Alterity_in_Kant_and_Levinas_uncorrected_proofs_.

4. Emirbayer, Mustafa and Ann Mische. “What is Agency?” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 103, no. 4, 1998, pp. 962-1023. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/231294?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

5. James, Laura M. Nasser at War: Arab Images of the Enemy. Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006.

6. James, Laura M. “Whose Voice? Nasser, the Arabs, and Sawt Al-Arab Radio.” Arab Media & Society, Adham Center for Television and Digital Journalism, 1 June 2006, https://www.arabmediasociety.com/whose-voice-nasser-the-arabs-and-sawt-al-arab-radio/.

7. Labidi, Kamel. “The Voice of the Arabs is Speechless at 50.” The Daily Star, 10 July 2003. Wayback Machine, https://web.archive.org/web/20120331075426/http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2003%20Opinion%20Editorials/July/10o/The%20voice%20of%20the%20Arabs%20is%20speechless%20at%2050,%20Kamel%20Labidi.htm.

8. Maalouf, Amin. In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong. Translated by Barbara Bray, Arcade Publishing, 2000.   

9. Musleh-Motet, Nawal. “The Development of Pan-Arab Broadcasting Under Authoritarian Regimes – A Comparison of Sawt Al-Arab (Voice of the Arabs) and Al Jazeera News Channel.” Simon Fraser University, Simon Fraser University Library, 28 Nov. 2006, https://summit.sfu.ca/item/6695.