Muna Al-Shazli
Muna al-Shazli (Arabic: منى الشاذلي, alternative spelling: Mona el-Shazly, 1975-) is an Egyptian television hostess most famously known for her work on the show Al-Ashira Masa'n (10 in the Evening) which aired on Dream TV, a popular, independent Egyptian satellite channel owned by prominent businessman Ahmad Bahgat.
She grew up in the United Arab Emirates and returned to Egypt to go to the American University in Cairo (AUC). At AUC, she headed a section in one of the university's newspapers, the Caravan, and this kickstarted her career in journalism. She graduated in 1996 with a BA in political science.[1]
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Career
Muna al-Shazli first worked in the public relations department of the Arab Contractors Company. She then began working for the Arab Radio and Television (ART) channel, hosting a program that reviews films and features film stars called La Tazhab Haza Al Masa' (Do Not Leave This Evening). In 2006, after she hosted several other shows for ART, she signed a contract with Dream TV to host the program Al-Ashira Masa'n which covers sociopolitical issues. [2]
She is one of the highest paid TV hostesses in Egypt. The program Al-'Ashira Masa'n is far-reaching and is viewed by people of almost all classes. The show’s TV ratings, according to Filfan.com reach 71.2% on average and reached up to 79% when Muna al-Shazli hosted the revolutionary leader Wa'il Ghunaym.
Role in the Revolution
Muna al-Shazli's attitude toward the Revolution was ambivalent at first; she would sometimes sympathize with the revolutionaries and then with the regime. She cried after Muhammed Hosni Mubarak's second speech when he said that he is an Egyptian who lived and wants to die in his homeland. Her tears led many to see her as hypocritical and as “sitting on the fence”.
Interview with Wa'il Ghunaym
Her fame grew noticeably when she interviewed Wa'il Ghunaym, whom she hosted on the day of his release from prison. Al-Shazli reported that a few days before his detention on January 28, 2011, Wa'il Ghunaym, a tech-savvy, young man who works as the Middle East google executive called her on her call-in show and talked about the uprisings, the cutting off of the internet and the disgruntled Egyptian youth. Al-Shazli reports that a few days after Wa'il's phone call, a friend of his called her on her personal cell phone number, telling her that Wa'il had disappeared, was nowhere to be found and that he hoped and knew that she would be able to contact him. Eventually, they found out that he was arrested by State Security police along with other protesters.
After his release on February 7, 2011, al-Shazli interviewed Ghunaym. Initially, Ghunaym was composed and confident. He recounted that while he was in prison, he was treated with utmost respect and sat with very respectable, well-learned people. But those people, he said, although well-educated, believed that he and other activists like him were carrying out a foreign agenda or were just brainwashed. He said that during his twelve-day detention, he was blindfolded and did not know anything about the outside world. Toward the end of the show, Ghunaym became very emotional and almost always kept his eyes downcast. He urged the Egyptian people to not treat him as a hero, for he did nothing and the true heroes are the ones in the streets protesting. He kept insisting that the youth were well-intentioned. "We are not traitors, Muna," he kept saying. "We love Egypt."
As the interview was coming to a close, Muna al-Shazli showed pictures of the martyrs. Ghunaym said he had never seen them before. He started crying and between sobs said, "I am sorry to all the mothers and fathers who lost children, but this was not our fault. I swear to God it was not our fault. It is the fault of all those who stayed in power and did not want to leave." And all of a sudden, he dashed out of the studio, with al-Shazli running out after him.[3]
To many people in Egypt and around the globe, Ghunaym's hour-long appearance with Muna al-Shazli, "re-energised the movement just as it seemed to be losing steam." Reportedly, "hundreds of thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Cairo the day after he spoke" to al-Shazli.[4]
One Year on
On May 10, 2012, Muna and fellow journalist Yosri Fouda moderated a historic presidential debate between then-presidential hopefuls Abdel-Moneim Abol-Fotoh and Amr Moussa.[5]
In July 2012, Muna left Dream TV.[6]
References
- ↑ "Mona Al Shazly Speaks at AUC” Web. 05/10/2011; <http://www.aucegypt.edu/newsatauc/Pages/story.aspx?eid=632>
- ↑ “Mona Al Shazly Forum” Web. 5/10/2011 <http://monaelshazly.forum0.net/>
- ↑ Interview with Muna Al-Shazli on Feb. 7, 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjimpQPQDuU Date Accessed May 5, 2011
- ↑ "Profile: Egypt's Wael Ghonim." BBC. February 8, 2011. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12400529 Accessed December 10, 2011
- ↑ "Egyptian presidential election TV debate – as it happened." The Guardian. May 10, 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/may/10/egypt-presidential-election-debate?newsfeed=true Accessed May 12, 2012
- ↑ Akerman, Iain. "MBC expands with new channel in Egypt". Campaign Middle East. September 30, 2012. http://campaignme.com/2012/09/30/13867/mbc-expands-with-new-channel-in-egypt/ Accessed October 17, 2012
Other References
"Mona el-Shazly." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_el-Shazly Accessed November 13, 2011.
Shahata, Tariq. "Wa'il al-Ibrashi: Muna al-Shazli Tahamasat li-Taqdimi 'Al-Ashira Masa'an". Al-Balad. September 16, 2012. http://www.el-balad.com/265788 Accessed October 17, 2012</ref>
