ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some general background on the relationship between minorities and media in the Middle East in order to put the discussion of the goals and practices of minority media into context. It illustrates the ways in which media is used and discuss whether common aims can be identified. The Wafd, the main political party which had been the mechanism that had enabled Copts to participate prominently in Egyptian political life, also declined, and Copts looked instead towards the Church as an alternative space for social life and media production. Among the most prominent contributors are the Arabic-speaking Christians: in fact they played a pivotal role in the emergence of the press from the early nineteenth century until the mid-twentieth century. Jews in the Arab world also saw the emerging press as an opportunity to become involved in public life and to define their role in society for themselves.
