21 May 2008
DOHA, QATAR - With the Middle East peace process at a standstill and the Palestinians bitterly divided, the Doha Debates will be staging a special event with Hamas's foreign minister and co-founder Dr Mahmoud Al-Zahar.
The Doha Debates Special will be filmed at Qatar Foundation headquarters on May 27th and aired on BBC World on June 7th and 8th.
Dr Al-Zahar worked as a surgeon in Gaza and set up a medical charity before helping to found Hamas in 1987. Since then he has been subjected to torture, exiled to a refugee camp in Lebanon and lost two sons and a son-in-law in Israeli air strikes.
He will participate in a one-on-one interview with ex-BBC HARDtalk presenter and Doha Debates Chairman, Tim Sebastian. This will be followed by questions from the audience.
"Dr Al-Zahar is a key player in Hamas and speaks with considerable authority, " said Sebastian. "I hope he'll explain what it will take to stop the violence between rival Palestinian groups and heal their divisions."
The Doha Debates Specials were introduced in 2005 to mark the 10th anniversary of Qatar Foundation and due to their success they have continued ever since. Past Doha Debates Specials guests have included President Bill Clinton, Iyad Allawi, and Amre Moussa. The specials underline the importance to the Foundation of providing a forum for free speech and giving students and the general public an opportunity to question important figures about key world issues.
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About the Doha Debates:
The Doha Debates are a unique forum for free speech in the Arab world. Chaired by Tim Sebastian, the internationally renowned award winning broadcaster, the series has been broadcast on BBC World since January 2005. BBC World reaches nearly 300 million people in more than 200 countries.
The Doha Debates are hosted and funded by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. The Foundation is a private, chartered, nonprofit organization committed to the belief that a nation's true wealth is in the potential of its people. Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al Missned, the wife of the Emir, it seeks to develop that potential through a network of centres devoted to education, public health and research.
For more information, please contact
Bell Pottinger Communications
Patrick Forbes
Tel: +974 588345
Email: pforbes@bell-pottinger.co.uk
Website: www.thedohadebates.com
DOHA, QATAR - With the Middle East peace process at a standstill and the Palestinians bitterly divided, the Doha Debates will be staging a special event with Hamas's foreign minister and co-founder Dr Mahmoud Al-Zahar.
The Doha Debates Special will be filmed at Qatar Foundation headquarters on May 27th and aired on BBC World on June 7th and 8th.
Dr Al-Zahar worked as a surgeon in Gaza and set up a medical charity before helping to found Hamas in 1987. Since then he has been subjected to torture, exiled to a refugee camp in Lebanon and lost two sons and a son-in-law in Israeli air strikes.
He will participate in a one-on-one interview with ex-BBC HARDtalk presenter and Doha Debates Chairman, Tim Sebastian. This will be followed by questions from the audience.
"Dr Al-Zahar is a key player in Hamas and speaks with considerable authority, " said Sebastian. "I hope he'll explain what it will take to stop the violence between rival Palestinian groups and heal their divisions."
The Doha Debates Specials were introduced in 2005 to mark the 10th anniversary of Qatar Foundation and due to their success they have continued ever since. Past Doha Debates Specials guests have included President Bill Clinton, Iyad Allawi, and Amre Moussa. The specials underline the importance to the Foundation of providing a forum for free speech and giving students and the general public an opportunity to question important figures about key world issues.
- Ends -
About the Doha Debates:
The Doha Debates are a unique forum for free speech in the Arab world. Chaired by Tim Sebastian, the internationally renowned award winning broadcaster, the series has been broadcast on BBC World since January 2005. BBC World reaches nearly 300 million people in more than 200 countries.
The Doha Debates are hosted and funded by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. The Foundation is a private, chartered, nonprofit organization committed to the belief that a nation's true wealth is in the potential of its people. Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al Missned, the wife of the Emir, it seeks to develop that potential through a network of centres devoted to education, public health and research.
For more information, please contact
Bell Pottinger Communications
Patrick Forbes
Tel: +974 588345
Email: pforbes@bell-pottinger.co.uk
Website: www.thedohadebates.com
© Press Release 2008
