| Network Name: | Al-Resalah |
| Country: | Saudi Arabia |
| Network Type: | Satellite television network |
| Available: | Middle East, Europe, North Africa, Internet |
| Owner: | Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal |
| Key People: | Tareq Al-Suwaidan (Former General Manager) |
| Website: | http://www.alresalah.net |
Al-Resalah (Arabic: قناة الرسالة; The Message) is an Arabic language satellite television channel "to present true Islam".[1]
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.[2] 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.[3] [4]
The head of Al Resalah’s programming in Egypt is Ahmed Abu Haiba, the original producer of Amr Khaled’s first television program.[5] 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).[6]
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.[7]
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[5]).
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-Resalah of airing anti-Western, anti-Semitic, and pro-al-Qaeda content.[11]