Al Resalah

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

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

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 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, a nonprofit press monitoring and analysis organization with headquarters in Washington, DC, has accused al-Reslah of airing anti-Western, anti-Semitic, and pro-Al Qaida content.[11]

References
  1. "Saudi prince sacks TV chief for Muslim Brotherhood ties". BBC News. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  2. owner Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal during the station’s launch
  3. Religious broadcasters avoid confrontation Archived 2008-07-20 at the Wayback Machine by Ayat Basma, MEB Journal, Jan Feb 2008
  4. Statement of Richard A. Clarke Before the United States Senate Banking Committee Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine 22 October 2003
  5. "TV director fired for ties to Muslim Brotherhood". USA Today. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  6. Fatwas and Feminism: Women, Religious Authority, and Islamic TV Archived 2008-04-23 at the Wayback Machine By Sharon Otterman, TBS 16, 2006
  7. The Saudi Gazette, March 7, 2006 cited by Memri Archived 2008-04-09 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Hold Your Breath for a Coming Resalah Archived 2007-03-17 at the Wayback Machine By Sarah Sharaf, IslamOnline Mar. 16, 2006
  9. “Islamic and yet modern television” Tareq Al-Suwaidan, producer of Al-Risala Archived 2008-04-08 at the Wayback Machine interviewed by Daniela Conte, 5 Feb 2008
  10. The new Muslim TV: media-savvy, modern, and moderate Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine 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. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
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