Al-Resalah Satellite TV

Al-Resalah
Type Satellite television network
Country Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
Availability Middle East, Europe, North Africa, Internet
Slogan "Creative and authentic"
Owner Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
Key people
 General Manager Tareq Al-Suwaidan[1]
Launch date
 March 1, 2006
Official website
 http://www.alresalah.net

Al-Resalah (Arabic: قناة الرسالة‎‎; The Message) is an Arabic language satellite television channel "to present true Islam".[2][3]

It is funded by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, recorded in all over the United Arab Emirates to Morocco and Kuwait, and broadcast from Cairo. Al-Resalah has slots on the Arabsat and Nilesat satellites, serving primarily the Middle East, but North Africa and Europe as well.

The General Manager of Al Resalah was Tareq Al-Suwaidan, a former host at the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) and a leading member of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood.[4] Tareq Al-Suwaidan was fired from his job in August 2013 by the channel's owner, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, because of Al-Suwaidan's support for the Moslem Brotherhood.[1][5]

The head of Al Resalah’s programming in Egypt is Ahmed Abu Haiba, the original producer of Amr Khaled’s first television program.[6] The channel's advisory committee includes Sheikh Abdullah Bin Sulaiman Al-Manai (Senior Ulema Commission, Saudi Arabia); Dr. Abdallah Omar Naseef (president of the Muslim World Congress); Dr. Hamed Ahmad Al-Refaie (secretary-general of the MWC and president of the International Islamic Forum for Dialogue); Dr. Abdullah Al-Muslih (Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah); Sheikh Ali Al-Nashwan (executive manager of the prince's Kingdom Holding Company's Humanitarian Division, and religious advisor to the prince); Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Askar (former head of the media department at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University); and Dr. Walid Arab Hashem (Shura Council member).[7]

Al Resalah’s website features a list of fatwas by Egypt’s famous preacher Yusuf Al Qaradawi approving music videos, SMS chatting and hosting non-veiled women on its shows.[3]

IslamOnline noted that Iqraa TV was the first Islamic channel created, followed by others such as Al-Fajr TV and Al-Manar, but that Al-Resalah had "taken things a step further, pushing forth into the wider realm of entertainment media". Al-Suwaidan too speaks of a nascent revival that has started not only in Muslim countries, but also within Muslim minorities, and that Al-Resalah hopes to contribute to.[8] In February 2008 al-Suwaidan explained that Al-Resalah began with a wide range of programmes, but in the end concentrated on religious features, aiming to be within the top ten by Ramadan 2008. He claimed that after only one and a half years, Al-Resalah ranks at 18 out of 400 Arab satellite channels and at number one of religious channels outside of Saudi Arabia. The target audience is Arab, young and female: according to al-Suwaidan, 70% of the viewers are women[9] (60% according to Abu Haiba[6]).

Some members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood have expressed enthusiasm for the station.[10] MEMRI, an organization promoting Islamophobia, has accused al-Reslah of airing anti-Western, anti-Semitic, and pro-Al Qaida content.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Saudi prince sacks TV chief for Muslim Brotherhood ties". BBC News. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  2. ↑ owner Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal during the station’s launch
  3. 1 2 Religious broadcasters avoid confrontation by Ayat Basma, MEB Journal, Jan Feb 2008
  4. ↑ Statement of Richard A. Clarke Before the United States Senate Banking Committee 22 October 2003
  5. ↑ "TV director fired for ties to Muslim Brotherhood". USA Today. 18 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 Fatwas and Feminism: Women, Religious Authority, and Islamic TV By Sharon Otterman, TBS 16, 2006
  7. ↑ The Saudi Gazette, March 7, 2006 cited by Memri
  8. ↑ Hold Your Breath for a Coming Resalah By Sarah Sharaf, IslamOnline Mar. 16, 2006
  9. ↑ “Islamic and yet modern television” Tareq Al-Suwaidan, producer of Al-Risala interviewed by Daniela Conte, 5 Feb 2008
  10. ↑ The new Muslim TV: media-savvy, modern, and moderate Ursula Lindsey, The Christian Science Monitor, May 2, 2006
  11. ↑ Stalinsky, Steven (June 21, 2006). "Saudi Billionaire Prince's Hate TV". The New York Sun.
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