RIYADH, 7 March 2006 -- Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, CEO of Kingdom Holding Company, officially launched yesterday an Islamic satellite channel to project Islam as a religion of moderation and tolerance.
Al-Resalah (The Message) Channel had made its debut informally on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed said the 24-hour channel would target the Arab audience, especially the youth, by projecting "our Arab heritage through a modern medium." It will be the forerunner of an English-language Islamic channel for the Western audience at a later stage.
Pointing out that the channel would seek to project the true message of Islam and its teachings, the prince said it would provide a platform for a dialogue on a range of religious, social and economic issues that affect everyday life. But more important, its priority would be to counteract the misconceptions of Islam in other societies.
Elaborating on Prince Alwaleed's comments, Shoura Council member Walid Hashem told Arab News that the channel would feature cartoons and animated films with a moral content. These programs would be procured from TV companies operating in Turkey and unspecified Arab countries.
Asked if the channel would provide a platform for different schools of thought, he said that the main objective was to unify the ranks of the Islamic community, counter the negative perceptions of Islam and wean the youth away from the path of extremism. To this end, there would be an assortment of programs from prominent scholars.
Tarek Alsuwaidan, the channel's general manager, said that 40 percent of the programs would be youth oriented, 30 percent would target women and families, and 10 percent would focus on children.
Noting that the channel was the brainchild of Prince Alwaleed, Alsuwaidan, who designed the contents of the program, said: "I was delighted with Prince Alwaleed's idea to plan and launch such a unique channel. This channel represents pure and moderate Islam and our Arab heritage through a modern medium."
The press conference was attended by members of the Supreme Advisory Committee of the new channel, including Abdullah ibn Sulaiman Al-Manai, Abdullah Omar Naseef, and Hamed Al-Refaie, president of the International Islamic Forum for Dialogue.
By Javid Hassan & Naif Al-Shehri
© Arab News 2006
