New channel for moderate Islam to begin

CAIRO — A group of Muslim clerics connected with Egypt's prestigious Al-Azhar University have announced the creation of a new satellite channel to propagate moderate Islam and challenge what it describes as extremist distortions of the religion.

The announcement comes as President Obama arrives to address the Muslim world from Cairo today in a speech co-sponsored by Al-Azhar University, Sunni Islam's premier educational institution.

Sheik Khaled el-Guindy, a member of Egypt's Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs and a driving force behind the "Azhari" channel, said the idea is to use the knowledge and skills of Al-Azhar graduates to combat ignorant interpretations of the religion.

"Azhari will promote the idea that Islam is a religion of moderation, free from extremism," he said Tuesday. "Several satellite channels right now promote a strict interpretation of Islam and issue incorrect religious opinions that fill young people with extremist ideas."

There are dozens of Islamic satellite channels in the Middle East, with many receiving money from the conservative oil-rich Gulf and propagating a very conservative form of the religion.

"Audiences need people that deal in reality and respect reality and respect changes in the world. These channels don't present these things. Some of these channels are just ignorant of reality," said el-Guindy, explaining that graduates of Al-Azhar are well grounded in subjects outside of religion.

Azhari is set to be launched in mid-August, at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and will present a mix of entertainment and educational programing, including children's cartoons, soap operas and call-in shows.

The channel will initially be broadcast in English and Arabic, with plans to expand it to Turkish and Hindi, and will be viewable from Europe to Southeast Asia.

"The idea is to really show moderate Islam, not this extreme one that is being utilized by others," said Hassan Tatanaki, a Libyan businessman who helped provide the channel's $2.7 million in initial funding.

With just a quarter of the world's 1.5 billion Muslims from the Arab world, reaching non-Arabic speaking Muslims is important, especially because many are in danger of being misled by extremists, he said.