Iqra Channel Live

[Pamala]

IqraaTV also spelt IQRA TV (Arabic: اقرأ iqraʾ "read")[1] is a satellite and internet television channel owned by Saleh Abdullah Kamel's Arab Media Corporation. It was founded in 1998. The channel promotes itself as a "Muslim family's safe haven", presenting religious and social programming. The Iqraa channel says its vision is;

Iqraa Channel seeks to meet the viewers' needs through presenting a number of serious programs on the viewers' everyday life problems, serving their spiritual, cultural, social and economic interests, from an Islamic perspective with a modern vision.

The educational focus of Iqraa's strategy is evidenced in its programming, which address a range of everyday topics from an Islamic perspective. Iqraa International shows includes "The Market", which discusses financial matters from an Islamic perspective and notably features Iqraa owner Sheikh Saleh Abdullah Kamel. "The Balance" is a health and nutrition program incorporating Quranic teachings. Iqraa also produces programming for children, including "Youth Issues" and "The Lives of Noble Figures," a documentary program "that aims to connect Muslim youth with the great leaders of Arab and Muslim history who achieved admirable glories."[4]

Iqraa's international programming is particularly aimed at educating Muslims living in the West on proper Islamic practices. Such programming includes "Muslim Minority" on "Muslims living in the West" and "The Role of the Masjid in the West".[4]

This paper was presented at a conference organized by The Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge on "Arab Satellite Broadcasting in the Age of Globalization" held 1-3 November 2002 and is reproduced with the permission of The Cambridge Arab Media Project. This version has been edited by TBS.

Islamic satellite channels are considered a novel experience in the Arab media world. Iqra Channel, which started transmission from Rome in October 1998, was the first Islamic satellite channel established to serve Arab viewers.

When we talk about Islamic channels two major questions arise: is there any need for an Islamic channel in the modern world; and how do we define an Islamic channel and is it equivalent to the religious programs that have been prevalent in Arab television channels since their beginnings in the 1960s?

The call for establishing an Islamic channel started following the launch of Arab satellite channels in the early 1990s. Such calls were mainly in the form of articles written by academics, thinkers, and journalists who had an Islamic orientation.

I was among those who called for the establishment of an Islamic channel and had published a number of articles. "Are we in need of an Islamic satellite channel?" was the headline of one of my articles published in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper in July 1994 in Arabic.

In that article, I referred to the growing calls by a number of Islamic organizations and institutions to establish such a channel. The need for setting up an Islamic channel was one of the recommendations of the 8th International Conference of Latin American Muslims in Brazil in 1994. Conference participants emphasized that establishment of such a channel was essential, especially for the benefit of Muslims living in non-Islamic countries as an alternative to non-Islamic channels.

First: Ours is an age of satellite channels, as nations compete with one another to have such a powerful medium to express their identity and achieve their interests. Arabs have also made remarkable headway in the field. This prompted us to call for dedicating some of these channels to the service of Islam.

Second: The minds of a considerable portion of Muslims have been distorted as a result of their wrong understanding of Islam. It was the result of a campaign to Westernize culture on the one hand and conflicts between various schools of thought and religious movements in the Arab and Islamic world on the other. It created groups in our societies, some of which have deviated from Islam and lost their identity while some others held extremist views and kept away from Islam's moderate line. Both groups will leave a negative effect on society, especially on youth. So the launch of an Islamic satellite channel will not only contribute to correcting misconceptions about Islam, but also enhance Islamic knowledge and help disseminate moderate Islamic teachings.

Third: Millions of Muslim minorities and communities living in non-Muslim societies, especially in Europe and America, lack proper knowledge of the Islamic faith and culture. These communities are in need of an Islamic channel to protect their Islamic identity and link them with their roots. It will strengthen their cultural orientation by providing them with spiritual and intellectual input and enable them to interact with non-Islamic societies in which they live.

Fourth: The picture of Islam is totally distorted in most societies, especially in the West. It is our duty to project the correct picture of Islam and an Islamic channel can play a vital role in achieving this objective.

There were incessant calls for an Islamic channel since then. The last of them came from the third conference of culture ministers in the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), held in Doha in December 2001. The conference approved a project to establish an Islamic satellite channel and assigned the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) to implement the project.

In a study presented to the culture ministers, ISESCO emphasized the need for an Islamic satellite channel. It said most channels in Islamic countries were transmitting national programs via satellite without focusing on common Muslim issues. If they had focused on Muslim issues, it would have contributed to unifying Muslim ranks and creating a general Islamic opinion.

ISESCO also pointed out that although Muslims constitute a strong economic and human force they still lack a powerful media organization to raise the voice of Islam and defend Muslim causes. It said an Islamic satellite channel would help strengthen Muslim solidarity, improve their image, and defend their honor.

With regard to the definition of "Islamic channel," researchers have different opinions on the definition and nature of Islamic satellite channels. Some of them give an impression that Islamic channels are just an extension of religious TV programs, in both concept and application.

Some thought that it should be a collection of da'wa (religious preaching) material transmitted by Arab TV stations, which would be reproduced and transmitted by a single satellite channel, targeting a particular audience of religious people who do not like to watch other channels.

In our opinion this common notion is not true. There is a fundamental difference between the concept of da'wa media and Islamic media. It can be said that da'wa media is part of Islamic media as the latter is more comprehensive.

It appears to me that there is an apparent mix up in concepts and this is evident from the writings of certain researchers who consider the media and da'wa as one and the same. Some people look at the Islamic channel with a narrow historical or geographical perspective. Media is different from da'wa as it is used for purposes other than da'wa, including transmission of news, recreation programs, advertisements, etc.

In light of the same criteria, it is not acceptable to restrict an Islamic medium within the limits of a closed history because it is not linked to a particular period. On the other hand, it transcends the limits of time to live in all ages, to make impacts, and tackle issues.

Another important point is that a medium established by Muslims or a Muslim country will not be considered an Islamic medium as long as it does not conform to Islamic ideology and the Islamic conception of the universe, life, and human beings. We have to correct the wrong notion that an Islamic medium is the one established by Muslims irrespective of whether it conforms to the Islamic faith and concepts. When followers of other faiths and cultures establish their media on the basis of their ideologies, it is quite natural that Muslims regulate their media in light of Islamic teachings.

Islamic media philosophy provides the general intellectual framework and necessary guidelines for our media activities. We look at the Islamic media as a comprehensive and total system, which determines its objectives and motives.

Our talk about an Islamic channel, its concept, content, audience and impact, should be made within the framework of this Islamic media philosophy. And we say that an Islamic channel is not a specialized religious channel, although it transmits religious programs. It is also not a da'wa channel, although it highlights the salient features of Islamic faith and culture to win the hearts of the followers of other faiths. The Islamic channel's audience will not be restricted to Islamists, although it pays them special attention.

When we talk about the Iqra Channel, I would say that it started with this comprehensive and wider concept of an Islamic medium. It was the first such experiment in the whole Arab and Islamic world. It required a full year of serious thinking and continuous work as it was not an easy task. We had to work for a novel and pioneering venture with a totally new media concept. We had to overcome a lot of obstacles and challenges to make it a reality.

It would not be an exaggeration if I say that our mission was a cultural challenge rather than merely setting up a satellite channel. It is enough for those who participated in transforming that cultural challenge into a reality to have had the honor of making an attempt.

The first person who took the initiative was Sheikh Saleh Kamil, who welcomed the idea and provided all the moral and material support needed to make it a success. He really deserves the lion's of the credit for this pioneering project.

3a8082e126