Saudi Arabia: New Islamic satellite channel launched

Riyadh, 7 March. (AKI) - Prince Alwaleed ibn Talal, the chief executive of Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company, has officially launched an Islamic satellite channel seeking to project Islam as a religion of moderation, the Arab News online daily reports. Al-Resalah (The Message) has been broadcasting informally since last Wednesday. At a press conference on Monday, Prince Alwaleed said the 24-hour channel would target an Arab audience, especially young people, by projecting "our Arab heritage through a modern medium.". Al-Resalah will be the forerunner of a future English-language Islamic channel for Western audiences.

The prince said the new Islamic network would provide a platform for a dialogue onreligious, social and economic issues affecting everyday life, but its priority would be to counteract the misconceptions of Islam in other societies.

Tarek Alsuwaidan, the channel’s general manager, said that 40 percent of the programs would be youth oriented, 30 percent would target women and families, and 10 percent would focus on children, Arab News reports.