Accusations of Collusion Among Egyptian Regime’s Media Professionals — What Saudi Arabia Has to Do With It?

“The Saudi sponsor, the Saudi agenda, the client of Saudi Arabia, the servants of Saudi Arabia,” four shocking descriptions were used by the Egyptian journalist affiliated with the ruling military regime, Mohamed el-Baz, in his fierce attack on his colleague Amr Adib, despite they both support Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

These are expressions used by the Egyptian regime’s media machine only with enemies such as Turkiye or Qatar.

Successive questions began to bubble, such as: Did el-Baz speak and attack Adib with no one telling him to do so? Did he target only Adib, or did he mean Saudi Arabia? What is the significance of all his “assaults”?

Do the disputes between them carry hints about Egyptian-Saudi relations during recent times? In particular, this was evident in certain occasions, including Egypt’s refusal to hand over Tiran and Sanafir to the kingdom less than a month ago, in addition to Emad el-Din Adib’s article (Egyptian writer), about the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war on Egypt, in which he said in the first line that relations with the Gulf states will be one of the taxes of this war.

 

Saudi Customer

Mohamed el-Baz, who heads Al-Dustour newspaper, said in a video he posted on Facebook on January 11, 2023: “Amr Adib spreads terror and panic in the hearts of Egyptians due to the deteriorating economic situation.”

He continued: “If there is a huge problem, then Amr Adib will not be affected, neither him nor his family. In worst cases, he will head to Saudi Arabia because he has a Saudi sponsor and serves the Saudi project that is not commensurate with the Egyptian project.”

El-Baz added: “He has a lot of money that will suffice him for two years after the Day of Resurrection.”

“Saudi Arabia has the right to have a project, whether in the media or in any field, and it has the right to recruit people in all fields, but recruit them here, meaning they work in its interest … and Amr Adeeb does this, he works for the Saudi project because he is a Saudi agent.”

El-Baz used an unusual sentence in the regular media’s handling of relations with the kingdom, saying: “Amr Adib is a man with a Saudi agenda.”

Then he addressed him: “You chose to serve the Saudi project and be a servant to Saudi Arabia; Amr Adib knows what he is doing, but don’t ruin people’s lives here.”

Some explained that el-Baz’s attitude is personal, came after private disputes between him and Adib, and that Saudi Arabia is outside the ongoing battle.

However, presenter Mohamed Abdul Rahman, on Al-Qahera News channel, was involved in the attack, and the term “Saudi agenda” was also used.

Abdul Rahman emphasized the depth of the problem, and he tweeted on January 11, 2023, saying: “The Egyptians who work for a propaganda apparatus affiliated with a friendly country are Egyptians working as servants of a propaganda apparatus that implements the agenda of the friendly country, even if it contradicts Egypt’s agenda.”

 

 What’s Behind the Attack

The question is why Amr Adib was chosen specifically as the focus of an implicit attack on Saudi Arabia, although he is considered one of the main media arms of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime as well?

This is due to the fact that Amr Adib has been the fruit of Saudi media from the beginning. The opportunity for him to appear as a program presenter came in 1998 through the encrypted Saudi Orbit TV at the time.

He began presenting the “Night Orbit” program, and it was the discovery of the famous director and producer Tariq el-Kashef.

After the channel officials were convinced of his presence, they brought him out on screen in May 2000 to present the first episodes of the talk show “Cairo Today.”

The aforementioned program lasted nearly two decades, and it became one of the most important talk shows in the Arab world. Even when Adib fell, Saudi Arabia was there for him.

In 2010, he was asked about the polishing of Gamal, the son of ousted President Hosni Mubarak, in some Egyptian newspapers.

Adib said: “Why are 3 pages being written about Gamal Mubarak’s thoughts?” referring to the possibility of inheriting power. After his statement, Adib’s program stopped and was prevented from appearing in Egyptian media.

At that time, Adib found no one the Saudi businessman Waleed Al Ibrahim, owner of MBC channels and Al-Arabiya news channel, as he was presented as a member of the jury in the famous talent show “Arabs Got Talent.”

As for the most controversial scene in Adib’s career with Saudi Arabia, it came in the presence of Turki Al al-Sheikh, Advisor to the Saudi Royal Court, during his signing of a contract with the MBC group in 2018.

Al-Sheikh said after signing: “We like to say…with this contract, Amr becomes the most expensive broadcaster in the Middle East,” before striking hard on his shoulder, which was considered an insult and an indication of “dragging” allies after luring them with money and important positions.

Therefore, the choice of Amr Adib to undermine Saudi Arabia is meaningful.

 

Economic Hints

The most prominent point in the manifestations of restlessness between the two parties, which may explain the reason for the recent disagreements, came with the statements of the Saudi Finance Minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, to Bloomberg.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said the kingdom is changing the way it provides assistance to allies, shifting from previously giving direct grants and deposits unconditionally.

“We used to give direct grants and deposits without strings attached, and we are changing that,” Mohammed al-Jadaan said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding Saudi Arabia was encouraging countries in the region to make reforms.

“We need to see reforms. We are taxing our people, we are also expecting others to do the same, to do their efforts. We want to help, but we want you also to do your part.”

On January 19, 2023, Al-Hurra website stated, as part of its analysis of the reasons for the absence of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, from a summit in the Emirates that Sisi attended, accompanied by a number of leaders of Arab countries, that “there is a clear discrepancy in the economic visions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, especially in helping Egypt during its economic crisis.

It stressed that “the economy was the main concern of the meeting, especially in light of the financial crisis in Egypt, and that the absence of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait from the meeting is a message that they will not contribute to aid to Cairo, especially after the statements of Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan.”

However, the implicit crisis between Cairo and Riyadh appeared through the article of the Egyptian writer Imad al-Din Adib (Amr’s older brother) on June 12, 2022, entitled Who pays the painful bill of the Russian-Ukrainian war?

He said: “The future of Egyptian-Gulf relations may be one of the victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war bill.”

Adib concluded his article by wondering, “what if Gulf aid and investments do not reach Egypt?”

Here, he predicted the escalation of the crisis and the severe pressure on the state of political and social stability in Cairo. He said: “This is a catastrophic possibility that opens the gates of hell, not only for the situation in Egypt but also for the region.”

 

‘Elephant War’

This situation caused anger among Gulf writers and statesmen, including the Saudi academic Turki al-Hamad, who tweeted in response to Adib’s article: “This writer was supposed to ask: Why can his country [Egypt] not be able to solve its chronic crises on its own instead of becoming dependent on This and that?”

He added: “It is a fact that insults Egypt when it makes it look for a Gulf, Iranian or Turkish [sponsor], instead of being the sponsor, as it was in the past, as it does not lack anything when compared to what Turkiye, Iran, and the Gulf have.”

Media researcher Tariq Mohammad also said that: “With the usual Egyptian description, what el-Baz said about Amr Adib has nothing to do with discussion and analysis.”

He added in an interview with Al-Estiklal: “Saudi Arabia’s presence was only justified for a reason or specific orders directed to el-Baz to lead the attack in this way and use those specific words, such as the agenda and accusations of collusion.”

He added: “The Egyptian media, which is being managed by the General Intelligence and by the orders of senior officers, cannot attack Saudi Arabia arbitrarily. Rather, the matter stems from a very deep and fierce political crisis.”

“The major battle or the war of elephants is between the two regimes in Cairo and Riyadh. Sisi, in his crisis, does not twist anything and relies mainly on Gulf aid.”

He indicated that “Saudi Arabia, as its Finance Minister said, will not give like this, but will take whatever privileges it can, companies and sectors, in exchange for aid.”

The idea of Gulf rice, which occurred in 2013, will not happen again because the region has changed, and the world has changed. What has not changed is Sisi and his extortionate military mentality, according to his estimation.

He concluded: “We are at the beginning of a scene that has its aftermath, and Saudi Arabia, if it does not pay, and Egypt, if it does not overcome the crisis, and it is difficult to do so, then the clash and pressure will increase.”

Rather, el-Sisi will enter into deeper clashes with his Gulf allies, as Imad al-Din Adib noted that the entire Gulf relations may be the price of the crisis, according to Tariq Mohammad.