Sunday, March 25, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
Peace TV finalizes plan to launch 24-hour Arabic channel
RIYADH: Internationally renowned scholar Dr. Zakir Naik, who is founder and president of the India-based Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), said in Riyadh yesterday that the IRF-owned Peace TV has finalized plans to launch a 24-hour Arabic-language Islamic channel.
“The Arabic channel, to air in mid-2013, will be dedicated especially for Arabic-speaking viewers around the world,” said Naik.
Peace TV is a major Islamic satellite television network with a record global viewership exceeding more than 100 million.
Naik, who has delivered more than 1,500 public lectures across the world, including some 220 in Saudi Arabia alone, on comparative religion, said Peace TV Arabic channel would not be just another Islamic channel.
“There are more than 60 Arabic channels today but the Peace TV channel will be unique in content and technology,” said the IRF chief.
Naik, who will inaugurate a branch and bookstore of Darussalam International Publications Company in Riyadh today, was felicitated at a dinner reception hosted in the capital on Wednesday night by Rashid Ali Sheikh, an Indian businessman and social worker.
Another reception in honor of this Islamic scholar, to be attended by a large number of diplomats, businessmen and Saudi as well as non-Saudi officials and guests, will be hosted by Abdul Malik Mujahid, Darussalam managing director, in the capital tomorrow.
Naik said he was happy to attend the opening ceremony of Darussalam branch in Riyadh. “Darussalam is probably the biggest publisher of Islamic books in the world,” he added.
Entry to Darussalam's inaugural program at the Riyadh Avenue Mall (Lulu Hypermarket) is open to all. A raffle draw will be organized on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, said Mustafa Habib Siddiqui, Darussalam media manager.
Asked about the uniqueness of the proposed Peace TV's Arabic channel, the IRF chief added: “It will be far superior to existing channels.”
The new channel will have access to the world's 300 million native Arabic speakers, he added. He said the new channel would be a respected global media outlet presenting Islam and removing misconceptions about Muslims and the Islamic world.
Asked about the popularity of the Peace TV programs, he said viewership is growing and his presence on the channels was about 17 to 18 percent in terms of airspace. He pointed out that Peace TV has had a large number of speakers and presenters, including many from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Sheikh Asim Al-Hakeem and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saifuddin, who have been associated with the channel for the last several years, are some of them.
Naik said he had no plans to deliver public lectures during this trip to the Kingdom. The Islamic scholar in his interview also spoke about the lawsuit he had filed against the UK government after it imposed an exclusion order on his visa/entry into the UK a couple of years ago. He also explained how his statements were often construed without any substance to be in favor of social persecution and for political action abroad.
Naik made it clear that he does not support any act of terrorism, but his Islamic speeches, especially when he criticizes Western powers for their interventions in the affairs of the Muslim countries, are often taken out of context to blame him as a supporter of “terrorism and extremism.”
On the ban imposed by the UK since June 2010, he said the term “exclusion” means authorities will not grant him a visa to travel to the country. “But my books and reading materials are freely available in the UK,” he added.
Naik, who earlier challenged his exclusion in a UK court, has approached the France-based European Court of Human Rights, which will now decide whether he will be allowed into the UK or not. Naik said he has never been prevented from entering any country in the past.
Naik’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that “The Indian Express”, one of India’s top daily newspapers, listed him recently as the country's 89th most powerful person, ahead of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen and eminent lawyer and former attorney general Soli Sorabjee.
The Islamic scholar said the IRF had planned to open two world-class international Islamic schools in Riyadh and Jeddah. These schools will be run based on the model of his Mumbai-based school, he noted.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article585180.ece
“The Arabic channel, to air in mid-2013, will be dedicated especially for Arabic-speaking viewers around the world,” said Naik.
Peace TV is a major Islamic satellite television network with a record global viewership exceeding more than 100 million.
Naik, who has delivered more than 1,500 public lectures across the world, including some 220 in Saudi Arabia alone, on comparative religion, said Peace TV Arabic channel would not be just another Islamic channel.
“There are more than 60 Arabic channels today but the Peace TV channel will be unique in content and technology,” said the IRF chief.
Naik, who will inaugurate a branch and bookstore of Darussalam International Publications Company in Riyadh today, was felicitated at a dinner reception hosted in the capital on Wednesday night by Rashid Ali Sheikh, an Indian businessman and social worker.
Another reception in honor of this Islamic scholar, to be attended by a large number of diplomats, businessmen and Saudi as well as non-Saudi officials and guests, will be hosted by Abdul Malik Mujahid, Darussalam managing director, in the capital tomorrow.
Naik said he was happy to attend the opening ceremony of Darussalam branch in Riyadh. “Darussalam is probably the biggest publisher of Islamic books in the world,” he added.
Entry to Darussalam's inaugural program at the Riyadh Avenue Mall (Lulu Hypermarket) is open to all. A raffle draw will be organized on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, said Mustafa Habib Siddiqui, Darussalam media manager.
Asked about the uniqueness of the proposed Peace TV's Arabic channel, the IRF chief added: “It will be far superior to existing channels.”
The new channel will have access to the world's 300 million native Arabic speakers, he added. He said the new channel would be a respected global media outlet presenting Islam and removing misconceptions about Muslims and the Islamic world.
Asked about the popularity of the Peace TV programs, he said viewership is growing and his presence on the channels was about 17 to 18 percent in terms of airspace. He pointed out that Peace TV has had a large number of speakers and presenters, including many from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Sheikh Asim Al-Hakeem and Sheikh Ahmed bin Saifuddin, who have been associated with the channel for the last several years, are some of them.
Naik said he had no plans to deliver public lectures during this trip to the Kingdom. The Islamic scholar in his interview also spoke about the lawsuit he had filed against the UK government after it imposed an exclusion order on his visa/entry into the UK a couple of years ago. He also explained how his statements were often construed without any substance to be in favor of social persecution and for political action abroad.
Naik made it clear that he does not support any act of terrorism, but his Islamic speeches, especially when he criticizes Western powers for their interventions in the affairs of the Muslim countries, are often taken out of context to blame him as a supporter of “terrorism and extremism.”
On the ban imposed by the UK since June 2010, he said the term “exclusion” means authorities will not grant him a visa to travel to the country. “But my books and reading materials are freely available in the UK,” he added.
Naik, who earlier challenged his exclusion in a UK court, has approached the France-based European Court of Human Rights, which will now decide whether he will be allowed into the UK or not. Naik said he has never been prevented from entering any country in the past.
Naik’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that “The Indian Express”, one of India’s top daily newspapers, listed him recently as the country's 89th most powerful person, ahead of Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen and eminent lawyer and former attorney general Soli Sorabjee.
The Islamic scholar said the IRF had planned to open two world-class international Islamic schools in Riyadh and Jeddah. These schools will be run based on the model of his Mumbai-based school, he noted.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article585180.ece
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