Latest news with #AhmedElTayeb
The National
3 days ago
- General
- The National
Middle East media must set the tone for how the region is covered
Few regions consume media as enthusiastically as the Arab world. With growing internet penetration rates, a market for video-on-demand subscription services worth more than $1 billion and millions of young people getting their daily news and information on their smartphones, the Middle East is at the forefront of evolving media trends. It is little wonder then that this week's Arab Media Summit in Dubai has brought together more than 300 speakers and 6,000 participants, among them Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmed El Tayeb and British media personality Piers Morgan. They joined many other notable voices – from influencers to editors – across journalism, digital content creation and communications, all seeking to chart a future for the region's media. It is a future that is exciting and bright but also challenging. For many years, the Middle East been portrayed in a one-dimensional fashion. Outdated tropes about unending conflict and militancy have arisen time and again in news reports, TV series and feature films, often side-lining the voices of the region's people. Therefore, it has been welcome to see the many discussions and insights arising from the summit reflect the vibrancy of media producers in the Arab world, from traditional outlets such as newspaper titles and TV channels to social media platforms and film production. However, in challenging times this vibrancy must also be matched by responsibility, especially when it comes to news reporting. Speaking at the summit on Tuesday, Dr El Tayeb, who is also chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, said Arab media 'has the biggest role in disclosing and showing the injustices in Gaza and keeping the Palestinian cause at the front of nations' minds'. He is right to suggest that it is journalists from the Middle East who should be the ones setting the tone for how the region's stories – good and bad – are told. It is critical that media owners, journalists and content creators meet at events such as Dubai's Arab Media Summit to shape the conversation To drive moves towards more holistic coverage of the Middle East, it is important for media outlets to dig deeper and focus on life in the region as it is lived, not as it is reported on from outside. Beshara, a weekly online newsletter published by The National, works to fulfil this mission by focusing on solutions-oriented stories, and positive developments, highlighting the work being done in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East to tackle some of society's most pressing problems. In a wider sense, the media has a social role to play. Speaking before the first day of the summit, Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Media Council, called the media "a vital partner in development and a key driver of social awareness'. Well-informed societies tend to make better choices, and in an age of misinformation and widespread social media use – in essence, humanity having a real-time conversation with itself – it is important that media owners, journalists and content creators meet at events such as the Arab Media Summit to shape the conversation.
Egypt Today
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Today
Grand Imam of Al Azhar welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire
File – Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb CAIRO – 11 May 2025: Egypt's Frand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb welcomed the ceasefire agreement announced between India and Pakistan. 'We welcome the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan as a significant step toward boosting peace, security, and stability in South Asia and across the world,' said the Grand Imam on his Facebook page on Sunday. 'Peace remains the optimal choice that should govern relations between nations and peoples. Therefore, international efforts must be intensified to bring an end to all conflicts, wars, and hostilities, so that humanity may enjoy a better world filled with safety, goodness, and prosperity,' Sheikh Al-Tayeb added. On Saturday, Egypt welcomed the announced ceasefire between India and Pakistan, achieved through US mediation, while stressing its reliance on the US role for a similar outcome for Gaza. The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after four days of fighting—the worst in decades—that threatened to escalate into full-scale war. The Indian foreign secretary announced that both countries agreed to immediately stop the fighting, effective at 5 PM (1130 GMT) today, following talks between their military chiefs. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed on X: 'Pakistan and India have agreed to a ceasefire with immediate effect.' Several civilians were reportedly killed and many more were injured in the exchanges of attacks initiated by India in response to a last month massacre of 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, in Kashmir – a territory divided between the two nations but claimed in full by both. Additional reporting by Amr Mohamed Kandil
Egypt Today
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Today
Al-Azhar calls for international support for Gaza reconstruction without displacement of Palestinians
Grand Imam of Al Azhar- Ahmed El Tayeb- file photo CAIRO - 13 February 2025: Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Egypt's top Islamic Institute, called for international support for the Egyptian and Arab stance on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, while the Palestinian people remain steadfast on their land. In a statement, It also urges maximum global pressure to enforce the Gaza ceasefire agreement and demands that world leaders exercise wisdom in public statements affecting the world. Al-Azhar reaffirmed that no entity has the right to coerce Palestinians into accepting unworkable proposals, stressing that the entire world must respect their right to live on their land and establish an independent state with Al-Quds Ash-Sharif as its capital. Al-Azhar further appealed to Arab and Muslim leaders, global advocates of justice, and all people of conscience to reject the displacement schemes designed to erase the Palestinian cause by forcing Palestinians to abandon their ancestral homeland, a land they have inhabited for millennia. 'Such actions blatantly disregard the sanctity of homeland and the profound bond between a people and their territory,' the statement read. The institution warned that the international community's failure to defend the oppressed will plunge the world into instability, reducing it to a lawless arena where the powerful exploit the vulnerable. Al-Azhar also urged religious institutions worldwide to amplify faith-based voices in defense of Palestine's oppressed, cautioning that suppressing these moral calls constitutes a grave accountability before God. It emphasized that all religions universally mandate the protection of the vulnerable and reject the expulsion of Palestinians from their land. In a world purportedly governed by international law, Al-Azhar condemned the current atrocities in Palestine as a regressive precedent, dragging humanity back to a pre-civilized age.
