Amr Khaled

Amr Mohamed Helmi Khaled[2] (Arabic: عمرو محمد حلمي خالد‎; born 5 September 1967) is an Egyptian Muslim activist and television preacher. The New York Times Magazine, in reference to Khaled's popularity in Arab countries, described him in its April 30, 2006 issue as "the world's most famous and influential Muslim television preacher." Amr Khaled was chosen in 2007 as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time Magazine.[3]

Amr Khaled
عمرو خالد
Born (1967-09-05) 5 September 1967
Alexandria, Egypt
NationalityEgyptian
OccupationMuslim preacher
Political partyEgypt's Future Party[1]

Despite his lack of Islamic education and training, his message appeals to a large number of Muslims who want an easy way to understand Islam.[4]

Early days

Amr Khaled was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 5 September 1967. He graduated from Cairo University in 1988 with a degree in Accounting. In 2001, he received a diploma from an Islamic Studies Institute. He received his Ph.D at the University of Wales, Lampeter in May 2010 with a grade of A.[5][6] He began preaching in mosques in 1990 while still working as an accountant. In 1998, he moved to full-time preaching, primarily on satellite television. Khaled's popular lectures, which can be seen on the Iqraa TV channel via the Nilesat direct broadcast satellites, are also distributed over the Internet and on audio and video cassette tapes.

Ministry and audience

Amr Khaled rejects extremism and strongly denounces the actions of Osama bin Laden. He announced that Arab Muslims want to live peacefully in coexistence with the West. His main teachings remain the same as those before him in more modern media, talking about everyday actions to get closer to Allah such as honesty, humbleness, and being polite. He believes that for society to improve it must change from the grassroots (from the bottom up). Khaled promotes community development in the Arabic and Muslim nation based on what he terms "Faith Based Development" (Arabic: التنمية بالإيمان). The idea is for people to develop their communities and countries with faith as their motivator and guide.

Khaled's primary audience consists of Arabs ages fifteen through thirty-five.[7] Khaled believes these are the ones most capable of changing the Islamic world. He is noted for his natural everyday language and his friendly approach, even joking at times during his lectures.

In 2008, in an open online poll, Khaled was voted the 6th topmost intellectual person in the world on the list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals by Prospect Magazine (UK) and Foreign Policy (United States).[8]

Shows

Khaled has many shows which were aired on TV in the Holy month for Muslim (Ramadan):

  • Call for Coexistence (Arabic: دعوة للتعايش) is a TV program 2007, presented by Amr Khaled.
  • Life Makers (Arabic: صناع الحياة) was a TV program aired from 2004 to 2005, presented by Amr Khaled, and is the main concept of his life. In this program the focus shifts from purely religious talk to action projects. The stated goal of the program is to produce a renaissance for the Arab and Muslim world. Projects in agriculture, education, small industries, health care, and other fields have been started and they are in progress.
  • On the Path of the Beloved (Arabic: على خطى الحبيب) was Amr Khaled's show for Ramadan 2005 in which he recounted and discussed the life journey (Sira) of the prophet Muhammad. This show focused on Muhammad's personal side and how he dealt with difficult situations in his life.
  • In Thy Name We Live (Arabic: باسمك نحيا) was Amr Khaled's show for Ramadan 2006, aired live at 7:30 GMT every night from Makkah. The main concept of this show was strengthening viewers' faith through the meanings of the Names of God in the Qur'an.
  • Qur'an Stories (Arabic: قصص القرآن) is Amr Khaled’s show for Ramadan 2008, in which he focused on the moral lessons not only of prophets but normal people as well. The main idea of this program is to fill the viewers with enthusiasm to be more active and affect their society positively.
  • Tomorrow is better (Arabic: بكرا أحلى) is a show that began on 6 May 2011 on ESC (Egyptian space channel). In this show, he is not in a studio but in the streets of Cairo.
  • Journey to Happiness (Arabic: رحلة للسعادة) is a show that aired during Ramadan 2011. The show's idea was to help people find happiness in their life.
  • Omar: the maker of civilization (Arabic: عمر صانع حضارة) is a show that was aired in Ramadan 2012, he spoke about the second Caliph, Umar ibn Al Khattab.
  • Qisat Al Andalus "The Story of Andalusia"

In December 2010, Khaled was invited by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to preach and broadcast in Yemen, to counter the growth of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups in the country causing chronic instability there.[9]

Criticism

Critics have called his approach "air-conditioned Islam," where hijab is a fashion purchase and televangelists talk about personal success and getting rich, more akin to Joel Osteen and Billy Graham than traditional Islam.[10] Many scholars, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi, have questioned whether he possesses appropriate qualifications to be a preacher.[4]

The British Sunday Times reported on 30 May 2004 that Andrew Turnbull, the cabinet secretary and one of Tony Blair’s closest aides, intended to seek Amr Khaled's aid in furthering the British government’s agenda regarding Muslims. This article hurt Khaled's reputation among those Muslims who are resentful of the attitude of current western governments towards them.[11] He is also criticised for the significant amount of money he makes from his television shows. His annual income in 2007 is estimated to be $2,500,000.[12]

Politics

After the January 25, 2011 revolution in Egypt, Amr Khaled shared in establishing a political party called Egypt Party and was elected as its president; however, he resigned one day after the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.[13][14]

Bibliography

Books by Amr Khaled include: /

  • Rafi Barakat, 2014 novel. ISBN 978-9771451815

See also

References
  1. Dawoud,Khaled. "Getting it together". Al-Ahram Weekly. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  2. Ethar El-Katatney ["Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2008-01-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) A Religious man Egypt Today October 2007.
  3. Nomani, Asra (2007-05-03). "The 2007 TIME 100 - TIME". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  4. Mandaville, Peter G. (2014). Islam and Politics. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-78256-2.
  5. Amr Khaled CV Archived September 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Amr Khaled | عمرو خالد (2010-05-19), Dr Amr Khaled just after the PhD Viva-HighRes, retrieved 2018-03-22
  7. Piety for the young and affluent Archived August 8, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-30. Retrieved 2012-08-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Prodger, Matt (December 7, 2010). "Newsnight - Superstar Muslim preacher Amr Khaled battles Al-Qaeda". BBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  10. Tammam, Patrick Haenni & Husam (1 September 2003). "Egypt's air-conditioned Islam". Le Monde diplomatique. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  11. "The Times & The Sunday Times". Retrieved 2018-03-22.
  12. 0. "Amr Khaled richest Islamic preacher: Forbes". www.alarabiya.net. Retrieved 2018-03-22.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2014-05-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Preacher Amr Khaled steps down from leading Egypt Party". Ahram News. July 17, 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
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